^< If. ..-.'•• ^:Xj ... J*^~ r^m: H\' Ex Libris C. K. OGDEX O U % a,;^''^^! y /a ^.^^^ -• ^^^ /7 /^a/ ^^i:^^ ^^'^^^'^ ^ ■^'^^ y E: C. K. HISTORY OF BRIGHTHELMSTON. —^O' -'J HISTORY ov BRIGHTHELMSTON OE Bri^Ijton as | ^ii^to it iiuir oi\m$ |lncto it, wrrn a CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF LOCAL EVENTS. By JOHN AOKERSON KI^REDC^E, ('Author of '■'■The StudentiC Hand Book," ^c.) BRIGHTON : PRINTED B7 E. LEWIS, "OBSERVER" OFFICE, ;2a, NORTH STREET. 1S62. PEEFACE. The publication of the Ilistory of Brighton had proceeded, with the most gratifying success, through ten monthly numbers, when it was suddenly interrupted by the lamented decease of the Author — Mr. J. A. Erredge. Death came upon him, not stealthily, but in its most awful form. It sui'prised him literally at the desk. Whilst talking cheerfully to the publisher, the hand of Death was laid upon him, and he fell dead to the ground ; — the ink of these pages was still wet whilst the Author was extended on the floor a corpse. So terrible an occurrence for a brief space delayed the publication of the work, but fortunately for the family of the author, the MS. was nearly completed, and his sons were enabled, fi'om the materials left by theii' lamented father, to compile the few last pages and send the two concluding numbers through the press. The History of Brighton is now completed, and what- ever shortcomings may be detected in the two con- cluding numbers, which had not the advantage of being corrected by the Author, will no doubt be pardoned by a generous public, 2000291 COTTTENTS. Chapter I. — Titf; Romans at Brighton . „ II. — Situation, Soil, Geologt, anb Climate op Brighton ,, III. — The Etymology, and Early History op Brighton ..... „ IV. — After the Conquest, to 1513 . ,, V. — Ancient and Modern Government op the To^^^J ...... „ VI. — The Book of all the " Auncient Customs.' „ VII. — The Tenantry Lands ... „ VIII. — The Bartholomews ... ,, IX. — The Vi^oRKHousE .... „ X. — The Attack on Briqhthelmston ry the French, in 1545 .... ,, XI. — Fortifications of the Town „ XII. — The Incursions of the Sea on the Town „ XIII. — The Dower op Ann Cleves . ,, XIV. — The Parish Church, St. Nicholas. „ XV. — Dr. Vicesimus Knox and the Surrey Militia ...... „ XVI. — The Old Churchyard . „ XVII. — Martyrdom of Deryk Carver ,, XVIII. — The Escape op Charles II. ^ „ XIX. — Persecutions for Conscience' sake. „ XX. — The Birds and their Haunts in the Neighbourhood of Brighton . Pagf. 1 11 15 21 26 45 50 52 61 63 73 80 82 92 102 118 124 134 139 VUl. COJJTKNTS. Page. Chapter XXI. — The Wild Flowers and Mosses about Eeighton 158 „ XXII. — Brighton Camp and the Tragedies of GoLDSTONE Bottom . . . . .168 „ XXIII. — The Sa:EiNE and its Tributaries . 182 „ XXIV.— The Theatres 206 „ XXV. — Brighton from its simplicity io its present renown . . . . .217 „ XXVI. — The Marine Pavilion AND ITS occupants. 251 „ XXVII. — On and ABOtJT the Eace-course. . 280 „ XXVIII. — Past and Present Pastimes . . 295 ,, ,, The Historical Street of the Town 329 „ XXIX. — The Public Institutions, Charities, AND Endowments ..... 336 ,, XXX. — Churches and Chapels. . . . 359 ! „ XXXI. — Hove and Cliftonville . . . 371 Chaptee I. THE ROMANS AT BRIGHTON. Althougli there is no doubt that the vicinity of Brighton at a very remote period was occupied as a Roman military station, it is not the intention of the compiler of this -work to date, merely on supposition, the origin of the town, coeval as it might have been with the landing of Julius Caesar in Britain. The "Magna Britannia," published in 1737, mentions: — " As to the antiquity of this town, there is reason to believe it to have stood a vast tract of time. From the accounts our historians give of it, for some of them speak of it ever since Julius Caesar's arrival in Britain, and affirm, that this was the place where he landed his legions ; (August 26th, 55 B.C.,*") but since others assert his landing to have been at Hastings, we shall not be very positive, yet may justly insist upon it as most probable, because there is good anchor- age in the bay here ; and besides, there appears ou the west side of this town to this day, for near a mile together, vast numbers of men's bones, and some of them of prodigious size, which plainly proves that there has been some warlike engagement neai' it." As an illustration that what has been transmitted to us orally, especially of remote periods, cannot be relied on, there is told the following talo of "Csesar's Stile" : — Dr. Stukely, or some other antiquarian, was travelling through England, when he heard that on a certain hill there was a stile called Caesar's Stile. " Ay," said the doctor, " such a road, mentioned in Antoninus, passed near here ; and the traditional name confirms the possibility of a Roman camp on this • Temple Sydney's History of England, published 1772, at Shakespear's ^cad, No. 17, Paternoster Ro\v, Loudon. 2 HISTOEY OF BEIGHTHELMSTON. spot." Whilst he was surveying the prospect, a peasant came up, whom the doctor addressed thus — ''They call this Caesar's Stile, my friend, do they not?" ''Ees, zur," said the man, " they calls it so artcr poor old Bob Ccesar, the carpenter ; rest his soul ; I holped him to make it, when I was a hoy." The "Burrell MSS." state that :—'' There are three Eoman castra, or camps, lying in a line over-thwart the Downs from Brighthelmstone to Ditchelling, from south to north. The first, a large one, called the Castle, about a mile from Brighton, eastward, and a mile from the sea, on the summit of a lofty hill commanding the sea-coast ; the next, a smaller, called Hollingbury Castle, nearly about the middle of the Downs, also commanding fr-om a lofty hill, by Stanmer, the whole western sea-coast of Sussex ; and a third, a large one, called Ditchelling Castle, containing between twelve and fourteen acres, is the highest point of the Downs thereabouts, and commands part of the sea-coast, and all the northern edge of the Downs, and the wild underneath it." A military Eoman way was discovered a few years ago, on St. John's Common, and in the enclosed lands adjoining, in the parishes of Keymer and Clayton, fully confirming the opinion of Camden and Stillingfleet that the JPorkis Adurni of the Eomans was at Aldrington.* On the west side also of Glynd Bridge, near Loavos, a paved Eoman causeway was discovered, lying three feet beneath the turf, upon a bed of silt, or blue clay, twenty feet thick ; and near it was found a large brass coin of Antoninus Pius. By whatever name Brighton was then known, there ia no doubt it was a place of some note in the time of the Eomans, as it was peculiarly favourable to all the purposes of the fisher and the hunter. Eomish coins are still frequently found in its vicinity, and in the year 1750, near the town, an uxn was dug up, which con- tained a thousand denarii of different impresses from Antoninus Pius to the Emperor Philip ; and since that time there have been * 4. Jac— Sir Edward Belliugham held freely to hirascif and his heirs lands and tenements in Aldrington, as of the Manor of Atlingworth.— Howe's M.S., p. 156.— 6. Hen. 6. Dc quarta parte feed, milit. in Athelyngworth iu Hundr. dc Fysliergate dicunt quod sit in manu Trioris de Lewes et est dec. — Ing. capt. ap. Lewes, G ILen, 6. THE E0MAN8 AX BEIGHTON. 3 found in some of the burghs or barrows to the east of the town, ashes and fragments of human bones, enclosed in urns of Roman manufacture. In preparing the ground for enclosing of the Old Stein, in 1818, several Roman coins were turned up by the work- men, on one of which, round the impression of the head, was the inscription, " IMP. ALEXANDER PITTS, A. Y. C," and on the reverse, " MARS ULTOR," with the initials S. C. between the figure of Mars. The date, however, was illegible. In forming the Race Course to the south of the Stand, — since restored to its original state, — several urns of Roman fabrication were dug up ; and since then, to the east of the town, ashes and fragments of human bones have been found enclosed in Roman urns. Relicts of the ancient Britons, before the time of the Romans in Britain, have at various times been found in the vicinity of Brighton. The most perfect were those discovered in a Barrow in Coney -burrow field, Hove, in January, ^856. In this field was a mound about 20 feet high, situated north of the pathway from Brighton to Hove, about N.N.E. of the church of St. John the Baptist. Some 40 years since, this hillock was covered with furze, and was a burrow for rabbits ; but at a more recent date, when the habitations of men became erected contiguous, and the human family extended thither, the colony of rabbits dispersed, and their abode became the rendezvous of rustic games. Our higlily res- pected local antiquarian, Barclay Phillips, Esq., thus describes it, and the incidents connected with it : — " Rising from a perfectly level plaiu, aud being uuconuectcd with any other hills, it always presented the appearance of an artificial mound, and therefore, when, some years ago, a road was cut through it to the Hovo Station of the Brighton and Portsmouth Railway, I was anxious to learn whether any antiquities had been met with ; but not any were then found. Now, however, all doubt on the subject has been set at rest, and the hillock proved to be a Barrow, or monumental mound erected over the remains of an ancient British chieftain. Labourers have recently been employed removing the earth of this hill, and last week, on reaching the centre of the mound, about two yards west of the road leading to Hove Station, aud about nine feet below the surface, dug out a rude coftin between six aud seven feet long. On exposure to the atmosphere tlio boards immediately crumbled away ; but a few of the knots i-emained, and prove to be of oak. The coffin contained small fragments of bone, some of which I have seen, and the following curious relics : — " 1. An Amber Cup, with a handle on one side. It is hemisphoriirtil in shape, s 2 4 HI3T0EY OP BEIGHTHELMSTON. rather deep, with a lip turning outwards, and is ornamented merely with a band of fine lines running round the outside about half an inch from the top. From the fact of the rim not being perfectly round, and the band before-mentioned not passing over the space within the handle, and its being marked oif at each end with a line seemingly cut across, we may conjecture it to have been made and carved by hand. " 2. Head of a Battle Axe, about five inches long. It is in perfect preserva- tion, and made of some sort of iron-stone, the wooden handle, having of course, long since decayed. " 3. A small "Whetstone, with a hole neatly drilled through one end, so that it might be suspended by a thong to the person, and earned about. " 4. A Bronze Spear Head, very much oxidised, and so brittle that it broke into halves as it was being taken out of the ground. Two of the rivets and fragments of the spear handle still remain attached to the lower end of the blade. "The workmen described the coffin as resting on the natural soO, which is stiff yellow clay, while the mound itself bears every appearance of having been formed of surface earth and rubbish thrown up together. I minutely examined the sections of the hill, and myself picked out several specimens of charred wood, and was informed that such fragments were very abundant. " The manner of sepulture and all the relics, excepting the spear head, in- dicate this mound as havmg been the burial-place of a British chieftain before the time of the Eoman invasion ; — the spear-head certainly more nearly, though not exactly, resembles those used afterwards. The mound was of the simplest and most ancient form, and therefore I am inclined to think we may reckon it as at least 2000 years old, perhaps more ! It has now disappeared. The last clod of that earth which so long covered the bones of a British chieftain was this afternoon carted away ; and coffin, bones, and earth have been thrown pell-mell to form the mould of the future rosary of Palmyra square." At a meeting of the Archaeological Society in London, about a month after the opening of this barrow, the cup, &c., were exhibited ; when Mr. Kemble and other celebrated antiquaries gave their opinion thus : — " The cup is the only known specimen of so large a size, and the battle axe is superior to any similar object in the British Musum." Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Franks, who have the care of the antiquarian departments, both declared the " find " in this barrow to have been the richest ever known. These rare specimens of local antiquity, through the loudness of Sir Francis Goldsmid, of " The AYick," on whose land they were found, form a prominent feature of the Brighton Museum, at the Royal Pavilion. SmrATION, SOIL, GEOLOGY, AND CLIMATE. 6 CiLlPTER II. SITUATION, SOIL, GEOLOGY, AND CLIMATE OF BRIGHTON. Brighton is situated ia 50**. 55'. N. latitude, and about 3'. W. longitude, on the eastern side of a shallow bay of the south coast. The centre of the town is in a valley, which at the north diverges to Preston in two courses prominently marked by the London road and the Lewes road, HoUingbury Hill intervening. The cast and north-west portions of the town are on acclivities, that to the east terminating abruptly at the south in cliffs ranging from 60 to 80 feet in height ; and that to the north-west gradually sloping to the sea-shore. The southern front is bold, and commands an extensive view of tho British Channel from Bcachy Head to Selsea BiU. The sou to the east and north-west is principally a thick sub- stratum of chalk, covered with a thin layer of earth. The subsoU of the centre is marl and shingle ; and to the westward there are large beds of clay of very irregular character. Dr. ManteU, in his valuable work, " The Geology of the South-east of England," says : — " The town of Brighton is situated on an immense accumulation of water-worn materials, which fills up a valley, or hollow, in the chalk. Tho diluvial deposit is bounded on the north-west by the South Downs ; on the east it extends to Rottingdean, and is there terminated by the chalk ; on the west it may be traced more or less distinctly to Bignor ; on the south it is washed by the sea, and forms a line of cliffs from 70 to 80 feet high; these exhibit a vertical section of the strata, and enable us to ascertain their nature and position." " The soil of the Downs," says Young in his Agricultural Survey of Sussex, "is subject to considerable variation. On tho summit it is usually very shallow, the substratum is chalk, and over that a layer of chalk rubble, and partially rolled chalk flints, with a slight covering of vegetable mould. Along the more elevated ridges there is sometunes merely a covering of flints, upon which the turf grows spontaneously. Advancing down the hiUs, the soil becomes deeper, and at the bottom is constantly found to be of very 6 HISTOET OF BBIGSTHELMSTON. sufficient deptll for ploughing : here the loam is excellent, generally ten or twelve inches thick, and the chalk rather broken, and mixed with loam in the interstices." Coombe rock, — a provincial term, — which greatly abounds in and about the eastern part of the town, is geologically known as the Elephant bed ; and, according to the same authority, " is composed of broken chalk, with angular fragments of flint, imbedded in a calcareous mass of a yellowish colour, constituting a very hard and coarse conglomerate. It is not stratified, but is merely a confused heap of alluvial materials ; where it forms a junction with the shingle bed, a layer of broken shells generally occurs : they are too fragile to extract whole : they appear to belong to the genera modiola, mytilus, nerita, &c. It varies considerably in its appearance and composition, in different parts of its course. In the inferior portion of the mass, the chalk is reduced to very small pieces, which gradually become larger in proportion to their height in the cliff : at length fragments of flint appear ; and these increase in size and number as they approach the upper part of the bed, of which they constitute the most considerable portion. These flints are more or less broken, and resemble those of our ploughed lands that have been long exposed to the action of the atmosphere. In some parts of the cliif, irregular masses occur of an extraordinaiy hardness; these have been produced by an infiltration of crystallised carbonate of lime. Large blocks of this variety may be seen on the shore, opposite to the New Steine, where they have for years resisted the action of the waves. This bed also contains water-worn blocks of siliceous sandstone, and ferruginous breccia. Small nodular masses, composed of carbonate of iron in lenticular crystals, interspersed with brown calcareous spar, have occasionally been found at the depth of ten or twelve feet from the summit of the cliff. The organic remains discovered in this depasit are the bones and teeth of the ox, deer, horse, and of the Asiatic elephant* ; these occur but seldom, and are generally * In April, 1822, a large molar tooth of the Asiatic elephant was discovered in Lower Eock gardens, in a well fifty feet deep ; and four very fine and perfect ones were dug up by the workmen employed on the foundation of the walls for the esplanade-, at the Chain Pier, in 1831. SmrATION, SOIL, GEOIOGT, AST) CLTITATE. 7 more or less -waterwom* ; but, in some instances, they are quite entire, and cannot have been subject to the action of the waves, The -wells in the less elevated parts of the town pass through the calcareous bed, shingle, and sand, in succession ; upon reaching the chalk, springs of good water burst forth, and these are said to be influenced by the tides. f The sinking of the "Warren Farm "Well, at the Industrial Schools, has formed a very interesting subject to geologists, aud on the 5th of November, 1861, tho Surveyor, Mr. George Maynard, made a report to the Directors and Guardians, as to the state of the well, wherein he "wished it to be undorstood that he was neither a professor of geology nor an hydraulic engineer." It stated that the work was commenced on the 22nd March, 1858, and had been continued since without intermission: — "In sinking the well (says Mr. Maynard), I have found that the different strata perforated have been thicker than is generally set forth by pro- fessors of, or writers upon geology, proving that tho dip of the strata is greater at this particular spot than is commonly found elsewhere, especially the gault, which is now being perforated. I have ascertained that the shanklin, or lower green sand, forming the bottom portion of the glaucomic strata, appear on the surface at Heuficld, and continue near the base of t'le Downs as far as Albourne, thus proving, from the depth attained, that a considerable vale is formed in the strata between Hcnfickl and Bcachy Head. The well at the Industrial Schools lies nearly in a direct line, and not far from the centre in distance, between Henfield and the point at Beachy Head, at tlie base of which water is continually flowing between the malm and gaidt strata. Hence arises the fact of the gault stratum being so much thicker than was contemplated ; but if the shanklin, or lower green sand is reached aud penetrated, there * I have (says JIantell) specimens of the teeth, found in a -well fifty yards inland, at the depth of forty-six feet, in the Coomba Rock, and immediately above the bed of shingle. t Some wells at Tetney (a village on the coast of Lincolnshire) that are sunk in the chalk, are also affected by the tide ; the wells overflowing with a greater flui at the time of high water, and particularly at spring tides ; showing that the water in the chalk communicates with the sea." — Geolog. Tram. vol. iii. p. 394. 8 HISXOEY OP BRIGHTHELMSTON. is little doubt an ample and continuous supply of water wiU be obtained, which in all probability wiU run up to the level of the land at Henfield (from whence the supply will originate), or above the bottom pump in the well. I have tested the quality of the stratum now being penetrated, and feel pursuaded that if water is obtained it wiU be of a good quality. I have already reported my interview w^th Sir Roderick Murchison and other professors of geology, at the Institute of Practical Geology, in Jermyn Street, London, at which meeting I was encouraged to hope that water would be obtained at a depth not far distant from that which the well has already been sunk; they, at the same time, expressing their surprise that the shanklin sand had not been reached before, and also kindly giving me valuable information how to proceed when that stratum was penetrated. The stratum in which the men are at work at this present time is very soft, so much so that if boring was determined on, it would be requisite to insert iron pipes, which, in my opinion, would be more expensive than the present mode of digging and steining. The depth of the well now attaiaed is 1,080 feet." Few organic remains have been found near Brighton. Dr. ManteU mentions but a fragment of a bone resembling tbe femur, and a grinder of a large size, decidedly the latter that of an Asiatic elephant, in the brick-loam at Hove ; the jaw of a whale in the shingle bed,; the antlers and bones of the red deer in a bed of loam, in sinking a well near the cavalry barracks ; the remains of a deer in the diluvium at Copperas Gap, by the Eev. H. Hoper ; and similar remains in digging a weU near the "Western Eoad. "With respect to climate, medical men, who have made it their study, have divided the town iato three districts. In 1845, Dr. "Wigan, then in medical practice m the town, published an elaborate treatise, "Brighton and its Three Climates," and in 1859, Dr. Kebbell, Physician to the Sussex County Hospital, produced his valuable book, " The Climate of Brighton." The former considers the north-west part of the town the most salubrious, as it is exempt from the keen easterly winds, and is generally free from the fogs and smoke of the central district. It is free, too, of the marine exhalatioiis to which that district is subject, The air of the east SIIITATION, son, OEOLOGT, AND CLIMATE. 9 division is bracing, and likowdso exempt from the saline particles which impregnate the atmosphere of the lower part of the town, a district which differs but little from any inland town in a low situation, and possesses none of the quality called bracing. Fogs, night and morning, frequently hang about the middle district, which may be termed the business quarter of the town. Dr. KobbcU says : — "Brighton, in respect of temperature and the sensation of cold, offers great variety of climate according as the situations are more or less elevated, sheltered, or exposed. The observations of myself and others go to prove, that the elevated portions of the Montpelicr districts, in the neighbourhood of All Saints' Church, are decidedly the coldest, being exposed to the full effects of the strong currents of air from the Downs. After this come the north-eastern districts, including the upper part of the Marine Parade, Kemp Town, and the portions of the town behind them on the north side of the Bristol Road, which are also very much exposed to the cold winds and draughts from the downs. The central parts of the town, from the Old Stcine to St. Peter's Church, are the most sheltered from the winds; both by the downs behind, which protect them from the north-east winds ; and by the buildings in fi-ont which break the force of the south- west winds ; but being on a level surface and enclosed between hills, it is damper than any other part of the town ; and I have noticed that in the autumn and winter, the night mists return earlier in the afternoon, and are dispersed later in the morning, than is the case in the more \ elevated and exposed districts. The low level or valley of the King's Eoad, though exposed to the full force of the south-west -winds, is still more sheltered from the cold north-east winds by the great mass of buildings and the hills behind, and is decidedly the warmest and mildest part of the town, offering a very marked contrast lo the cold elevated part of the Montpelier district. Sir James Clark speaks of the "West cliff as being * somewhat damp,' * but I am at a loss to conceive how this can be so, taking into consideration its sloping surface, the general porous character of the soil, together with its direct exposure to the * Clark on Climate, p. 219. 10 HISTOEY OP BETGHTHELMSTOK. rays of the sun. In point of warmth, the first half or third of the Marine Parade ranks next to the valley of the King's Road. Further east, towards Kemp Town, the air becomes colder and more bracing, and the draughts from the downs are more keenly felt. The parts of the town between the "Western Eoad, and the line of Tipper I^orth. Street and Montpelier Terrace, occupy, in point of climate, an intermediate position between the valley of the King's Eoad, and the cold and exposed portion of the Montpelier district. I cannot conceive any place enjoying greater natural advantages than Brighton, and it is incumbent on those who think it unhealthy to state from what source the insalubrity can have its origin, always excepting those artificial and preventable causes of disease which it creates within itself. For upwards of half the year the inhabit- ants breathe an atmosphere which has traversed the surface of several thousand miles of the great Atlantic Ocean. This at all events must be entirely free from all sources of disease. The staple of the land upon which the town stands, and for several miles round, is composed of chalk and sand, intermixed with flints, with the dip of the strata towards the sea, which, with the absence of any dense foliage in the surrounding district, has the effect of rendering the atmosphere of the place remarkably dry and bracing. JN^either is there any low-lying marsh land, where the fresh and sea water mix and infect the atmosphere, or exposure of mud at the mouths of rivers at low tide, or, in fact, any source of malaria whatever within any distance of the town, which can possibly to any appreciable or injurious extent affect its atmosphere. The winds from the laud side, therefore, are, probably almost, if not entirely, as healthy as those from the sea. Brighton has also no tidal harbour, nor any exposure of mud at low tide containing decaying vegetable matter, which at many sea-side places, and some much frequented by the public, is not only very offensive, but very injurious to the health."* * The " Climate of Brighton," by William Kebbell, M.D., Physician to the Sussex County Hospital. ETTMOLOGT AlTD EAELY HISTOEY. 11 ClLVrTEE III. THE ETTilOLOGY AND EARLY HISTOHY OP BRIGHTON. The obscurity respecting the etymology of Brighton, or more properly speaking Brighthelmston, is much to be regretted. In the Domesday Book it is written Brighthelmstun, evidently derived from BrigUhelm, the name of some person of eminence, to whom it belonged, and tim the Saxon of town or dwelling. Bailey says that the name was given to the town by St. Bright- helm, a Saxon. Skinner says the town was so named from Brighthehn, a canonised bishop of Fontenoy, who lived about the middle of the 10th century. Stillingfleet and other authorities state that a Saxon bishop of that name resided here during the Heptarchy, and his name was given to the town. The last opinion is most to be relied on, as, when Ella and his three sons — Cimen, "Wicncing, and Cisa, — landed in Sussex, at Shoreham, in 447, Bishop Brighthehn accompanied them ; and one of his successors resided at Aldrington, the Partus Adurni, or port of the river Adur, (where, near Fishersgate, till within the last forty years, was the entrance to the harbour from the sea),* and. held a considerable portion of the land thereabout until 693, when he was killed in battle ; but where the battle was fought no mention is made. Dr. Relhan says : — " The light sometimes obtained in these dark matters from a similitude of sounds in the ancient and modern names of places, is not to be had in assisting the present conjecture. Its ancient one, as far as I can learn, is no way discoverable : and its modem one may be owing either to this town's belonging formerly to, or being countenanced in a particular manner, by a Bishop Brighthelm, who during the former government of the island, lived in this neighbourhood : or perhaps may be deduced from the ships of this town having their helms better ornamented than those of their neighbouring ones." * The harbour's new mouth was opened on the 2oth of January, 1819. 12 HISTORY OF BKIGHTHEIMSTON. The earliest record of the modem name, Brighton, is to be found in the BuiTell MSS. :— " 17. Henry lY. Thomas Seynt Clare holds the manor of Brighton with lands and messuages in the same." The following is quoted from the same authority — " 2. Mary. The queen on the 27th day of Nov. let to farm to "William May, valet of the kitchen, the manor of Brightelston with all its appurtenances for 21 years, from the feast of St. Micha?l last past, for the annual rent of 61 13a 4d." Mr. James Charles Michell, who re-publishcd Dr. Eelhan's "Short History of Brighthelmston, in 1761," mentions it to be met with in the terrier to the tenantry land, dated 1660. Domesday book states that two of the three manors of- Brighthelmston had been held by Edward the Confessor; but it has been aptly observed, that, notwithstanding, they might not have belonged to that prince ; for the Normans, who de- nounced Harold the Second as an usurper, invariably substituted the name of Edward, when jurors were empannelled, in order to make an accurate return of the several manors within their respective hundreds, putting down that of Harold, as the statutes of the republican parliament of the 1 7th century are all references to Charles II. It is therefore fair to presume that the whole, or most of the town and parish belonged to the ancestors of Earl Godwin many generations prior to the Conquest, if not ever since the establishment of the Saxon power in this part of the island. They were styled Thanes, or noblemen of considerable possessions. The only Thane whose name, qualities, and achievements have been made known to us, was TJlnoth or "Wolnoth, the father of Earl Godwin and lord of the manor of Brighthelmston. This nobleman was appointed by EtheLred II. to dii-ect the equipment of, and afterwards to command, the ships sent by the county of Sussex in 1008, as its quota towards the national fleet which the king was then collecting to oppose the Danes, who were come a second time to levy contributions on England. Godwin, his son and successor to the manor, was banished by order of Edward, who took it with other possessions. He regained them by force, and retained them till 17th of April, 1053, when he was suddenly EmrOI/OGT AKD EABLY HI3T0EY. Id taken ill while dining at Winchester, where the court of Edward was then held, and died four days afterwards. Earl God-win was succeeded in two of the chief manors by his son Harold, who, upon the death ^f Edward, in 1065, was chosen king : but, from some secret arrangements between the king and William, duke of Normandy, the latter made a claim wliich he asserted by force of arms. Ho landed at Pevensey. Harold at the time was at Stanford Bridge, near York, where he had defeated Toston, his unnatural brother, and Hai'old Harfa- ger, the king of Norway; and hearing of William's arrival, he immediately proceeded southward, and with the addition of some levies hastily collected at Brighthelmston and his other manors in Sussex, encamped within nine miles of the invader. On the 14th of October, 1066, he joined battle with the Normans, and after performing all that valour and judgment could do against a brave enemy, he closed his life in the field of battle, near Hastings, having been pierced in the brain with an arrow. Harold's possessions at Brighthelmston having fallen into the hands of WUliam the Conqueror, the town was conferred on his son-in-law, one of his generals, William, Lord de Warren, in Normandy, who was created Earl of Surrey. In 1081, when the survey of Sussex was made by com- missioners under order from William the Conqueror, the manor of Brighton — Brighthelmston-Michelham, — had attached to it four haffa, or tenements, in the town of Lewes, for which a sum of twelve pounds a-year was paid. These /wyvn had, at some distant period, received a colony of Flemings. Tliis might have happened soon after the conquest, as a great inundation of the sea took place in Flanders about that period ; and such of the unfortunate inhabitants of the IQ HISTOEY OP BEIGHTHEIMSION. deluged country as wanted new habitations, could not have any- where applied with a greater likelihood of success than in England, as Matilda, queen of William the Conqueror, was their country- woman, being daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders. Being thus settled in Brighthelmston, the Flemings were led by habits and situation, to direct their chief attention to the fishery of the Channel. Besides obtaining a plentiful supply of fresh fish of the best kind and quality for themselves and their inland neighbours, they, every season, cured a great number of herrings, and exported them to various parts of the continent, where the abstinence of Lent, the vigils, and other meagre days, insured them a constant market. There is no doubt, but, from time to time, additions were made to this foreign colony, from Spain, France, and Holland, as the names of some of the oldest families of the town verify ; namely, Mighell (Miguel), Gunn (Juan), Jasper (Gas- pard), Jeffery (Geoffrey), Gillam (GuiUaume), &c. The inhabitants were now classed into landsmen and seamen, or mariners, and they profited respectively by the advantages of their situation. The former, whose dwellings were on the cliff and part of the gentle acclivity behind it, drew health and com- petence from the fertile soil ; while the latter, who resided in two streets beneath the cliff, found a bountiful source of subsistence and profit at the bottom of the sea. In process of time, the mariners and their families, principally descendants from the new comers, the Flemings, had increased in numbers so far as to com- pose more than two-thirds of the population of the town, and they had a proportionate share of the offices and internal regulation of the parish. The Flemish, on their arrival, though received in all probability as vassals, found their condition an improvement on the general staie-villeinacfe ; aad the indulgence shown to foreigners was eventually extended to the natives ; and the disfranchised land- holders gradually emerged from the most abject state of feudal dependance, to one less precarious, that of tenants by copy of court roll. Once registered on the rolls of a manor, with the consent of the lord or his steward, their title became indefeasible and descendible to their heirs, except in case of neglect or violation AFTER THE COlV'arEST. 17 of the definite and recorded duties of their tenure. Thus settled, the husbandmen of Brighthelmston had every inducement to marriage, and they toiled -with pleasure in their patrimonial field. The mariner also, freed from feudal caprice, braved the dangers of the deep, not only for his subsistence, but as a future provision for his family; and transmitted to his posterity, controlled by manorial custom, his ship or boat, his cottage, his capstan and garden, and other monuments of his paternal solicitude and industry. The town being, as now, a member of the port of Shoreham, — all boats of the town register at Shoreham, — was obliged to furnish some seamen for the royal navy ; and no other tax or service was imposed upon the inhabitants, till the levying of a poll-tax in the reign of Edward III. In 1313 Brighthelmston had become so considerable as to need the public accommodation of a market ; and John, the eighth and last Earl de "Warren, obtained a charter of Edward III. for holding a market every Thursday. The mariners about this time, in the Lower Town, or under Cliff, increasing in number and property, extended their habitations to the Upper Town, and began two streets westward of the Stein, named from their situations, East Street and West Street, forming the inhabited limits of the town in those du-ections. After East Street and "West street had been continued some considerable way towards the north, the landsmen, who were also becoming numerous, found it necessary to build intermediate streets, parallel to those already constructed ; and the proprietor of the north laines, finding it more convenient to have their barns, and finally, their own dwellings and the cottages for their workmen, at that extremity of the town, formed North Street. Most of the ground now occupied by Black Lion street and Ship street, and the intermediate space, ai-e, in all the Court Rolls, called the Hempshares ; and were, even after East street and West street were built, plots or gardens for the production of hemp, for the use of the fishermen of the town. The name of the ropemakcr who constructed all the cordage for tlie supply of the fishery, Avas Anthony Smith, who, in 1670 sufiered great pei'secution from Captain Nicholas Tattersal, a personage who assumed great power c 18 HISTOET OF BEIGHTKELMSTON. ■when basking in the smiles of royalty, consequent upon his effecting the escape of Charles II. to France. Smith was more especially the object of his malignity, fi'om having been the occupier of the house, in "West street, where the king sojourned preparatory to his flight; he happeiiing to recognise His Majesty, yet having too much loyalty to betray him. Jealousy actuated him ; as he was desirous of claiming all the honour in the royal escape. He in consequence kept all the merits, which were really due to Smith, in the back- ground, and took all the honour to himself, and the reward to. In process of time, as the population increased, and the sea made encroachments on the lower town, two streets were erected on the site of the hemp-shares or gardens. In the most eastern street of these, with one front to the High street, — that which passed along the verge of the Cliff, — stood an Inn, with a Black Lion for its sign ; and in the other there was an Inn, with a Ship for its sign. The two streets of the hemp-shares were soon distinguished by the two signs, and are the present Black-Lion sti'eet and Ship street. The Black-Lion Inn on the east side of the street, was converted into a private residence about the beginning of the present centuiy. The Ship, the oldest tavern in the town, is now, and has b-jen since 1650, known as the Old Ship, to distinguish it from the New Ship, a more recent erection. Besides the hemp-shares, the ground to the west of the town, which was afterwards brick-yards, and is now termed the Brunswick Square and Terrace district, was devoted to the growing of flax for the use of the fishermen. The prosperity of the town received a check about the middle of the fom'teenth century, from the ambitious projects of Edward III. against France, which exposed this and other fishing towns of the southern coast to the occasional retaliation of that kingdom. The inhabitants' boats were taken, and their fishery frequently interrupted. In 1377 the French burnt and plundered most of the towns from Portsmouth to Hastings ; but no particular injury to the to^wn is recorded of Brighton, at that period. When, however, there was the least appearance of danger, the coast "Watch and "Ward, called in the king's mandate VigilicR minntce, ware called into service. Their duties were nocturnal, and seldom exacted, un- less an immediate descent was apprehended. The watch consisted AFTER TITE COXQTrEST. 19 of men at arms, and hohilers or hoblers, who were a sort of light cavalry that were bound to perfonn the service by the nature of their tenure. They were dressed in jackets called hobils, and were mounted on swift horses. The bold stand made against the French, in 1377, when they landed at Rottingdean, was piincipally by the watch and ward-keepers of the coast, which had been divided into districts, entrusted to the care of some baron, or religious house, by certain commissioners, called Rectores Commitatus. In the annals of the Prior of Lewes, and the Abbot of Battle, we find that those personages were several times placed at the head of an armed power, to oppose actual or threatened invasion. Certain borough hundreds were also obliged, under pain of forfeiture or other penalty, to keep the beacons in proper condition, and to fire them at the approach of an enemy, in order to alarm and assemble the inhabi- tants in the "Weald. From the constant alarm of the people and the ruin of war, Brighthelmston generally expenenced a considerable share of the public distress ; as, besides contributing some of its best mariners for manning the royal fleet, the town was deprived of its trade and fishery. In 1512, in consequence of war being declared by Henry VIII. against Louis XII., all the maritime industry of Brighthelm- ston suffered, and its buildings were threatened with plunder and conflagration. At this time. Sir Edward Howard, the English Admiral, having made several successful attempts on the coast of Brittany, and being joined by a squadron ol ships commanded by Sir Thomas Knivet, went in pursuit of the French fleet, under the command of Admiral Primauget, Knight of Rhodes ; the real intention being to destroy the town of Brest. The French fleet, consisting of thirty-nine ships, was in the harbour of Brest. Howard, having been misled by the information and advice of a Spanish Knight, named Caroz, as to the strength of Primauget' s force, entered the bay under the fire of two strong batteries, which commanded the entrance, with only a barge and thi-ee galleys, and took possession himself, of the French Adniral's. But the French soon recovered from their panic, the two fleets met, and a furious en_;agement ensued. At length Prir. auget's ship was set on fire, and determining not to perish alono, he bore down upon the c 2 20 HISTOET OF BBIGHTniXMSTON. English Admiral's, and, grappling with her, both ships soon became involved in the same inevitable destruction. This dreadful scene suspended tlie action between the other ships; but after some time,, the French ship blew up, and in its explosion destroyed the English ship. "While the conflict was at its height, and the deck was streaming with the blood of his brave companions, Sir Edward was thrust with a half-pike into the sea and perished. After this misfortune, the English fleet returned home ; and Primauget's being reinforced from Brest, and being animated with his recent success, he sailed for the coast of Sussex, to wreak that vengeance on the inhabitants which was due to Henry alone. He accordingly, in the night time, landed some men, who plundered it of everything valuable that they could remove, set many houses on fire, and wantonly slew many of the inhabitants. The rest flying in terror and confusion difierent ways, the country became alarmed as far as Lewes and the "Weald. * The French re-embarked the next morning, with their booty, before' the country people could assemble in any force to annoy them. Sir Thomas Howard, brother of Sir Edward, whom he succeeded, soon after, with Sir John "Wallop, made a descent on the coast of Normandy, and desolated no less than twenty-one towns and villages, inhabited by people who never did, and perhaps never wished to do, any injury to their fellow men on this i.dde the Channel. Such is the fortune, and such are the advantages and distinctions of the royal game of war. Holinshead mentions an attack upon the town by the French, about this time; and there is the probability that he refers to th(' same invasion, as he terms it a nocturnal visit from some * The Weald of Sussex is an extensive vale that occupies the centre of the south-eastern part of the county, and, running parallel -mth the Downs, forms their northern boundary. It was anciently an immense foi-est (called by the earlier colonists, Coid Andred, by the Romans Silva Anderida, and by the Saxons Andreadswald), which, even in the time of Bede, was a mere retreat for deer and swine : the greater part is now in an excellent state of cultivation. It consists of various beds of clay, sand, and limestone, and is comparatively of low elevation ; its breadth is from five to ten miles, and its length from thirty to forty miles ; it is estimate 1 to contain 425,000 acres. The surface is intersected by raimerous valleys, which generally occur at the outcrop or basseting edges of the harder strata, and form channels for the numerous streams that are tributary to the rivers in their vicinity. Tlic whole tract rises with a gradual sweep from the foot of the Downs, and unites with the higher lauds of the Forest Eidge. APTEE THE CONQUEST. 21 French eliips, but commanded by Prior Jehan, tho high admiral. He says: "but when tho people began to gather, by firing the beacons, Prior Jehan sounded his trumpet to call his men aboard, and by that time it was day. The certain archers that kept the watch followed Prior Jehan to the sea, and shot so fast that they beat the galley men from tho shore, and wounded many in the fleet : to which Prior Jehan was constrained to wade, and was shot in the face with an arrow, so that he lost one of his eyes, and was like to have died of tho hurt, and therefore he offered his image of wax before our Lady at Biillogne, with the English arrow in the face, for a miracle." According to the BurreU MSS.,* in 1589, strict orders were given for maintaining beacons in all accustomed places, with orders to the watchmen, that if the number of invading ships did not exceed two, they were not to fire the beacons, but to cause larums to be rung from church to church as far as the skirts of tho JiiU reached from the sea shore, and no further ; and to send a post to the nearest justices : but if the ships exceeded two, they were to fire both their beacons, which were to be duly answered by the corresponding ones, and thus rouse the "force of the shire." Five discreet householders in the neighbourhood, were assigned to each beacon, one to keep watch constantly. In 1590, the beacon watches were ordered to bo discharged till fiu'ther orders. Chaptee V. ANCIEI^T AND MODERN GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN. When king Alfred divided England into shires, tho shires into hundreds, and tho hundreds into tithings, tithing men or heud- • The BuiTell Manuscripts were compiled by Sir William Burrell, a great antiquarian, who for many years spared neither attention nor e.'zpcasc in collect- ing and arranging the materials for preparing the antiquities of Sussex ; and the county looked for their completion with the utmost solicitude. The death of the worthy Baronet, unfortunately, rendered it incomplete, and the ten folio volumes 9i his rare and scarce manuscripts were deposited iu the British Museum. A tablet, by Flaxmau, to the memory of Sir "William, adorns tho wall of Cuckileld church. 22 HISIOEY OF BEIGHTHELMSTON. boroughs — ^heads of boroughs — were the only guardians of the peace, and dispensers of justice within their respective districts, the original limits being the residences of ten creorles or freemen, with their families and slaves. Uader the Saxon constitution, Brighton had two headboroughs ; a proof that its population, even then, was far from being inconsiderable, These headboroughs sat alternately or together, at the borough court, at which the decenners, or free, or frankpledges (friborgs) as had no causes to be tried there, attended as jurors or sworn assessors to the presiding officer. These free- pledges were the origin of the Society of Twelve, which continued in Brighthelmston to the commencement of the present century. By the statute of Winchester, 13th Edward I., the borough of Brighthelmston had a constable appointed for itself exclusively, an indication of its respectability at that period. According to Alfred's division, the hundred to which Brighthelmston belonged, contained, besides that borough, those of Ovingdean and Rottingdean, called in Domesday, Welesmere. The boroughs of Preston (Prestetune) and Patcham (Patchame), which were originally hundreds of themselves, were, under Edward I., united to the borough of Brighthelmston, and composed a new hundred, called Wellshourne, since corrupted into Whalesbone. The boroughs of Ovingdean and Eottingdean were then united to the small hundred of Palmer, under the name of JEwensmere. Wellsbourne took its name from a stream which till within the last few years ran, in the winter time, nearly the whole length of the hundred. It rose near the upper end of Patcham street, and entered the sea at the Pod, — Pool Yalley, — in Brighthelmston. Within the last thirty years it burst out with so large a current as to inundate the Level to the north of the town, and even the greatest part of the Stein. In the spring of 1806 it laid the north of the town under water. After the last inundation, in the winter of 1827-8, a large sower, called the Northern Drain, was laid down from the northern boundary of the London Eoad, to the sea, its outlet being in front of the Albion Hotel. The source of this stream or bourne, being the well at Patcham, it had its name from that circumstance, and lent it to the said hundred. The leet or law day, the ^dew of frankpledge for this hundred, ANCEENI AKD MODEEN GOVEEKMENT. 28 was held on Easter Tuesday, when all the ofSicers of the hundred, except the headborough of Patcham, were elected. The Constable of Brighthelmston was always chosen by and out of the Twelve of the town. The headborough, afterwards styled the constable of the borough of Deane or Patcham, was nominated in rotation for that office, according to the particular lands he held within the borough. From and after 1618, by arrangement between the two classes of inhabitants, the fishermen and the landsmen, " Twelve out of the ancientest, gravest, and wysest inhabitants of the town, eight fishermen and four landsmen, were selected for assistants to the conestable in every public cause." The constable was then termed the High Constable, and his twelve assistants were called Head- boroughs. The constable of Brighthelmston served at Quarter Sessions, musters, and other public services for the whole hundred, the constable of the Deane being only his assistant or deputy within the borough of the Deane or Patcham. There was also chosen at the leet or law day for this hundred, which is in the deanery of Lewes, an ale-conner and a searcher or scaler of leather. Since the town became incorporated, in 1854, no headboroughs have been chosen; but Mr James Martin, who was appointed at the last annual Court Leet of the Earl of Abergavermy, by the steward of the Leet, F. H. Gell, Esq., on Easter Tuesday, 1855, continues the High Constable of the Hundred of Whalesbone : his duties however are very trifling, merely consisting of taking charge of the Parish Jury List, and presenting it to the Clerk of the Peace for the County. The following is a list of the Constables who have served the Hundred as far as the records of them are made in. the Town Books, or other proofs are given : — 1691. Richard Harman, senr. 1692. JohnEUgate. 1694. Thomas Stanbridge. 1695. Richard Masters. 1589. Henry Giinn. 1597. Thomas Jeffery. 1618. Richard Stoneham. 1660. John Brooker.* 1670. Nicholas Tattersal (Captain). j 1696. Henry May. 1683. Richard Harman. 1697. George Beach. 1690. Richard Masters. 1698. Henry Stanbrid;^e. * To commemorate his appointment he had small copper tokens oast, ■with " John Brooker, I'jiiO," on them, and " Brighthelmston, J. B.," on the obverse. A specimen of this coin, in the possession of the compUer of this book, is in an excellent state of pre.ser- vation. 24 HISIOKT OF BEIGHTHELMSTON. 1699. John "Woolger. 1751. Thomas Roberts. 1700. Thomas Gillam. 1752. Philip Mighell. 1701. Isi-ael Paia. 1753. Thomas Kent. 1702. Jonas Hunn. 1754. David Yallance. 1703. Joseph Buckall. 1755. Thomas GiUam. 1704. Thomas llidge. 1756. Hugh Saunders. 1705. John Gold. 1757. John Lashmar. 1706. Jonathan Wegeram.* 1758. Thomas Measor. 1707. "WilUam Gillam. 1759. WilHam BuckoU. 1708. James Friend. 1760. Edward Smith. 1709. Nicholas Roberta. 1761. Richard Tidy. 1710. Richard Masters. 1762. William Lucas. 1711. Thomas Roberts, jun. 1764. John Tuppen. 1712. Thomas Bewman. 1765. Henry Beach. 1713. Richard Legate. 1766. Francis Carter. 1714. John Peircy. 1767. William Chapman. 1715. Israel Pain, jun. 1768. Stephen Poune. 1716. Dighton Elgate. 1769. Stephen Flemming. 1717. Richard Roggers. 1770. Beach Roberts. 1718. Henry Stanbridge. 1771. Harry Stiles. 1719. Thomas Swan. 1772. William Bradford. 1720. Philip Mighell. 1773. Robert Davis. 1721. Wilham Heaves. 1774. James BuckoU. 1722. Thomas Scutt. 1775. Richard Willett. 1723. John Masters. 1791. Robert WilUams. 1724. Nicholas Sanders. 1792. JohnKirby. 1725. Samuel Dean chosen, but dying. 1793. Thomas Tilt. Edward Heath served. 1794. William Wigney. 1726. Thomas Simons. 1795. John Baulcomb. 1727. JohnTuppen. 1796. James Vallance. 1728. WiUiam Bradford. 1797. AVilham Chapman. 1729. Henry Paine. 1798. Stephen Gourd. 1730. Thomas Wood, alias Dine. 1799. Richard Lashmar. 1731. William Friend. 1800. Cornelius Paine. 1732. Richard Lemmon. 1801. Stephen Wood. 1733. Richard Harman. 1802. Philip Vallance. 1734. Richard Masters, 1803. Daniel Hack, who afiEirmed. 1744. Hugh Grover. 1804. Thomas Newington. 1745. James Ridge. 1805. Thomas Saunders. 1746. James Brooker. 1806. Thomas Saunders. 1747. Thomas Sanders. 1807. William Newbold. 1748. Richard Mighell. 1808. Adam Maiben. 1749. Israel Paine. 1809. JohnMiUs. 1750. William Grover. 1810. John Hargraves. * In the Town Book the same name appears written "Wigram and Wiggram. ANCIENT AND MODEEN GOVEENMENT. 25 1811. 1812. 1813. 1814. 1815. 1816. 1817. 1818. 1819. 1820. 1821. 1822. 1823. 1824. 1825. 1826. 1827. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. Harry Colbron. Edward Blaker. Alexander Baldey. Kobert Ackerson. William Williams. George Richardson. John Williams. Richard Bodle. Richard Humber. John ;Mj-rtle. George Wood. George Wigney. William Blaber. William Boxall. Samuel Akehurst. Thomas West. Edward Hill Creasy. James Cordy. Thomas Palmer. J. G. Sarel. D. M. Folkard. Samuel Ridley. John Poune. William Hallett. 1835. JohnYeates. 1836. John Ade. 1837. T. H. Wright. 1838. John Bradshaw. 1839. Henry Smithers. 1840. William Barnes. 1841. Thomas Fuller. 1842. Edward Humphreys. 1843. Edjnundus Bum. 1844. George Chittenden. 1845. Robert Williams. 1846. William Catt. 1847. William Towner. 1848. William Lambert. 1849. George Cheesman, jun. 1850. Charles Smith, who appointed his brother George to serve. 1851. M. D. Scott. 1852. William Beedham. 1853. H. P. TampUn. 1854. P. R. Wilkinson. 1855. James Maitin, who continues to be the High Constable of the Hundred.* On the 5th of April, 1793, at a Yestry Meeting held at the Town. Hall, it was ordered : '' That in future the Constable (High) be allowed twelve guineas, to be paid in full, for all expenses during his oflfice, including four guineas for a dinner." It was customary at the Court Leet, each Easter, to choose a High-Constable Elect, but he was not always appointed at the next Court; as, in 1814, Mr. Ackerson was chosen, although Mr. "VT. "Williams was the elect. • Anno 13 and 14 CnroU II., cap. 12, sec. " XV. And whereas the Laws and Statutes for the apprehending of Kogues and Vagabonds have not been duly executed, sometimes for ■want of Officers, by reason of Lords of Manors do not keep Court-Leets every year for the making of tlicm : Be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That in case any Constable, Ifeadborough, or Tythingmon shall dye or go out of the Parish, any two Justices of the Teace may make and swear a new Constable, Headborough, or Tythingman, imtil the said Lord shall hold a Court, or until next Quarter Sessions, who shall approve of the said Officers so made and sworn as aforesaid, or appoint others, as they shall think fit : And if any Officer shall continue above a year in his or their Office, that then in such case the Justices of Teace in their Quarter Sessions may discharge such Officer;, and may put another fit person in his or their place, until the Lord of the said Manor shall hold a Court as afore- said." 28 histoet of beighthelm8i0n. Chapteb YI. THE BOOK OF ALL THE '' AU:N'CIEN'T CUSTOMS." In consequence of the perpetual jealousies and strife betsveen the fishermen and landsmen, a commission was sent to Brighton, in 1580, to settle every difference, assess the town rates, and arrange the public concerns of the parish. The Earl of Arundel, Lord Buckhurst (Lord of the Manor), Sir Thomas Shirley, of Preston, and Henry SheUey, Esq., were the commissioners. The number of landsmen who at that time paid parochial rates and taxes, was 102 ; while the number of fishermen amounted to 400. The decision of the commissioners gave satisfaction to all parties till 1618, when a fresh arrangement was entered into The orders and regulations of these two commissions were directed to be " written in two several bDoks of parchment," one of which was to be delivered to the Earl of Arundel and Lord Buckhurst, the other was to "be kepte in a cheaste locked with three locks, in some convenient place in Brighthelmston." Provision was made also for the safe custody of the key of the chest, and for the annual reading of the regulations by the Vicar, " openlye in the presence of all the fishermen and others of the parishioners, contributaries, in some convenient time and place." The " Book of all the Auncient Customs," is dated 23rd July, in the 32nd year of Queen Elizabeth, 1580; and is kept in its original shape in a spacious box, at the oflS.ce of Messrs. Attree, Clai'ke, and Hewlett, solicitors. Ship Street. It is in black letter, on parchment, and is in a state of good preservation, although the ink, from age, is very yellow. An engrossed copy in corrected modern authority, is deposited with it, and is as follows : — In the Manors of Brighthelmston, as Parcel of the Barony of Leives, the following Feudal Customs, 2)artly of Saxon origin, but established for the most part bg the Norman settlers in this country, have, by immemorial usage, governed the Courts there : — 1. The lands of copyholders ia these manors are descendible, on death, to the youngest son, or to the j'oungest daughter if there be no son, and so on to the youngest relatives collaterally. ^ 2. The widow of a purchaser of a copyhold estate to which he has been Veteres Rotuli Curioo ANCIENT CTTSTOMS. 27 admitted, or the widow of an heir by descent, though unadmitted, may, after three courts to be holden next after her husband's death, claim her vsidoiv's bench, and shall be admitted for her life, even though she marry again, she paying the lord a reasonable fine, not exceeding one year's value of the land. But if the hu.sband, even on his death-bed, make a surrender of his copyhold, the widow shall not have her bench, nor the widow of a purchaser unadmitted, nor the widow of a tenant in reversion. 3. All the tenants of these manors, except such as were discharged by deed, or held by knight's service, held their lands by mite ofcoufl, the copi/lwlder from three weeks to three weeks, and to bo of the homage : the freeholders were to appear only twice a-year, viz., at the courts holden at Easter and Michaelmas, where, if they knew of any wrong done to the lord, they were bound by their oath of fealty, to make it known to the court. But they (the freeholders) were not to be of the homage, because they performed service at juries at the barony court, held from three weeks to three weeks at Lewes ; fio**cwhich service the copyholders were exempt. The defaulters at each court were to be essoyned (excused) or msirred (fined) in proportion to their offence. 4. Surrenders made out of court, and presented at the next general court holden for the manor, are good. 5. Ttie heir in possession of a customary tenement, being above the age of fourteen years, or he or she to whose use any sun-ender shall be made, being of the like age, not coming into court on or before the third half-yearly proclamation, shall forfeit his or her estate. 6. If a copyholder leave an heir under the age of fourteen years, such heir is, during his or her minority, to be committed to the care of the next of kin who is able to answer for the profits of the land, and to whom the land cannot descend. At the age of fourteen years the heir may choose a guardian. 7. Heliefiini Heriot were due to the lords of these manors on the death of every freeholder, not discharged by deed, who died seized of an estate of inheritance of soccage tenure. 8. On the death or surrender of a tenant for life, no heriot is due, except for a stinted cottage ; nor of a joint tenant : or if a tenant in fee surrender to one of his heirs, part of his customary tenement, and reserve another part to himself and heirs, no heriot is, due, because he is still tenant of the heriotable tenement. 9. No more than one heriot is, by custom, claimable for any number of tenements in one manor, belonging to the deceased. 10. The copyholder was to keep his customary tenement in repair, and for that purpose, may cut down on his copyhold the necessary timber, in case the lord, his steward, woodward, or reeve refuse to assign him any for that purpose. 11. If any tenant, free or customary, aUen parcel of his tenement, and the rent be apportioned in court with the lord's or the steward's consent, it concludes with the lord and tenant. Otherwise the lord may distrain any part of the tenement for the whole rent. 12. The heir of every tenant, being fourteen years of age, after the death of his ancestor dying seized of customary lands or tenements, as also a purchaser, upon surrender of such lands cither in possession or reversion to bis use, coming info the court at or before the third proclamation, and desiring to be admitted, shall have a reasonable fine assessed by the lord or iiis steward, not exceeding one year's value of the land; which fine the tenant is to pay on his admit iance, or shortly after; otherwise he forfeits his estate. 13. If a tenant let to farm his copyhold for more than one year and a day at a time, he is to come to the lord's court for license, which the lord is to grant, the tenant paying him four-pence, and no more, for everj' year so granted, with a reservation of the lord's customs, duties, and services. Also the copyholder, having 28 HISTORY OP BBIGHTHELMSTON. a bam on his copyhold, is to pay the lord four-pence, or less, but never more, for every wainload of corn or hay that grows on his said copyhold, and is carried out of 1'ho manor with license, or to any freehold within the manor. But the tenant may carry com or hay from one copyhold to another on the same manor, without license; ■where the two copyholds have equal estates. But if one be a guardian, or a tenant for life, and another tenant in fee, and any manure he removed fi'om the former estate to the latter, the party, so doing, shall be amerced. 14. If a copyholder alien his lands by deed, pull down his building without license, or wilfully suffer it to fall, commit any wilful waste, let his tenement for more than one year and a day without Ucense, obstinately refuse to paj^ his rent, or a reasonable fine upon admittance, or absent himself, without sufficient cause, from the lord's court after lawrfal summons, or, being there, will not be sworn of the homage, without satisfactory excuse, or carry all his corn from the copyhold, if ho have a bam there, he is for any of these offences, liable to forfeit bis estate in the said copyhold. 15. Strays, found within any of these manors, and proclaimed according to the statute, after a year and a day are passed, become the property of tlie lord of that manor, by prescription. Every lord is to maintain a common pound within his manor. But, of latter time, all strays within the rape and liberties of the barony of Leives, have, by consent of the lords, been presented at the law days or leet holden for the hundred in which the strays are found. 16. In each of these manors there was a Reeve, who was the lord's immediate officer. His name and institution are both of Saxon origin. The Thane who generally presided in person at his own court, had at first no other officer belonging to it than the Gerefa or Reve, who generally received a settlement on the mauor, in consideration of his services ; and thus, in most manors, did the office become pre- dial, or attached to some particular lands. In some manors however, it was not confined to one denomination only, but imposed on several of the tenants in rotation, by virtue of their tenure. This officer's duty is to account to the lord or his stewardi for all the ancient quit-rents both of freehold and copyhold, and all the heriots that fall due within the manor, together with the fines, leviable amercements, and all the other casual profits within the same. But he is not bound to audit out of the manor, unless the lord will recompense him for his pains ; nor even then, unless he chooses it. Being an officer of great antiquity, he is not bound to collect any but old rents, which were payable before the eighteenth year of Edward the First. 17. The majority of the homagers sworn at the lord's court, for the better pre- servation of order, have, time beyond all memory of man, with the lord's consent, used to make bye-laws for the establishment of the common good, and for preventing of public annoyances : and such laws made with reasonable penalties and clauses for distress for such penalties, have been immemoriaUy binding and concluding to all tenants of the manoi, provided such laws or orders cross not the general laws and statutes of the kingdom. Thougli many of the following Customs and Regulations are now become obsolete, they are in general too interesting to be ommitted in the History of the town. Upon supplication^ by the ancient fishermen of Brighthelmston, unto the Right Honourable tho Lords of the Council, for remedy and redress of certain disorders in their town, touching the annual payment of certain money called a quarter of a share, heretofore of ancient time usually paid out of every boat ia every » The first Town IJook, or Costnmal of Brighthetmston. In transcribing thii book, tli0 spelling is modcrnizeit. ATscnrm citstoms. i9 fishing voyage, to the churchwardens there, towards the maintenance of their church, and other public charges about the necessary defence of their town ; and for a contribution by the rest of the parishioners, not being fishermen, toward the bearinjr of the said charges to bo had and lened : and after cO' amission by the means of the Lord B'wkhHrst, for the purposes aforesaid, obtained fiom the Lords of her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, imto the Right Honourable Earl of Arundel, the said Lord Bucklturst, Sir Thomas Shirley, Knight, and Richm"d Shelley, Esquii-e, or to any two of thcui directed, bearing date the 12th day of February, in anno Domini, 1579, it pleased the said Lord Bnckhurst and Sir Thomas Shirley, by authority thereof, to will and command certain of the said ancient fishem.en to set down in writing their ancient ciLstoms and orders, concerning the true making, payment, and employing of the said quarter share, and the certainty thereof; which they, the said ancient fishermen, being assembled together, have done accordingly in manner and form here following. The Ancient Custom used for Tvckxet Fare. — '^'^ Imprimis, there have used, time out of mind, between February and April yearly, certain small boats called Tuckers, to go to sea upon the coast for plaice, of the burden of three tons or thereabouts. Every of these boats have used eight or nine men, or thereabouts, and two nets. Every man hath used to take for his body in this voyage, a share. The boat, the nets and necessaries thereto belonging, hath used to take fuui- shares : and besides, one other share hath been used to be made, whereof half is due to tHe Vicar, a quarter to the master, and the other quarter to the Churchwardens, for the use of the town : so that every boat in this voyage, having eight men, taking a share a man. maketh thirteen shares, viz., for eight men eight shares ; for the boat, the nets, and necessaries, four shares ; and for the Yicar, the town, and the ma-ster, one share ; and if there be more or less men, then the shares are more or less in number, according to the number of the men proportionably." The Ancient Custom used in Shotxet Fare. — '■'•Item, there have yearly, time out of mind, from April to June, used to go to sea for mackarel, other boats called shatters, of diverse burdens between six tons and twenty-six tons. Every boat of the burden of six tons, and not above ten tons, hath used to take two shares ; and above ten tons, and under eighteen tons, two shares and a half ; and from eighteen tons to the biggest, three shares. Every man having above four nets going to sea in this voyage, hath u.sed to take for his body, half a share, and not above ; and every other man hath used to take for his body, a share, and not above : and the nets have accustomably contained in length between thirty and twenty-foui- fathoms, and in deepness two ranns, every rann fifty moxe-s deep, whereof every four nets have used to take a share ; so that every boat in this voyage, taking two shares Aui a half, having ten men, taking a share a man, and having four score nets, maketh thirty-three shares and a half, viz., for four score nets twenty shares ; for ten men, ten shares; for the boat, two shares and a half; for the Vicar, the town, and the master, one share ; and if there be more or less men, or the boat be lesser or bigger of burden, or have less or more number of nets, then the shares ai-e more or less in number, according to the proportion of the boat, men and nets." The Anci'mt Custom used in Scarboeough Fare. — "Item. There have, since t ho memory of man, yearly, from Juno to September, other boats of divers burden between eighteen and forty tons, used a voyage to Scarborough to fish for cod (boing about forty years agon). Every boat in this voyage, of the burden of eighteen tons, .md not above twenty-eight tons, hath used to take four shares ; and from t venty-eight to the biggest, five shares. Every man in the biggest sort of these l.oats, biinging with him a line, a lead, four lines of hooks, and two norward nets, containing twenty-four yards in length, or thereabouts, hath used to take for bis body, and the necessaries aforesaid, one share : and in the smaUest sort, every 30 HISTOET OP BEIGHTHTILMSTON'. man bringing with him two lines, two leads, and one heah,^ containing twenty-eight yards in length, and five ranns in deepness, hath used to take a share and a half ; and having two lines, two leads, and two lieaks, of the length and deepness aforesaid, two shares : so that every boat in this voyage taking four shares, having twelve men, taking two shares a man, maketh in number twenty-nine shares, viz., for the boat, four shares ; for twelve men, twenty-four shares ; for the vicar, the town, and the master, one share : and the number of shares is varied more or less according to the number of men and nets, or the bigness of the boat, according to the proportion of this example." The Ancient Custom used in Yarmouth Fare. — " Item. There have yearly, time out of mind, from September unto November, used to go to Yarmouth to fish for herrings, other boats of divers burden, between fifteen tons and forty tons ; every boat of the burden of fifteen tons and not above twenty-four tons, taking three shares ; and every boat of twenty-four tons and not above thirty tons, taking three shares and a half; and from thirty to the biggest, taking four shares. Every man in this voyage used to take for his body half-a-share : and these boats have used two sorts of nets, the one sort caMedi Jicws, alias heals, containing between thirty and twenty-four fathoms in length, and in deepness four ranns, every rann fifty moxes ^ deep, every three of these nets taking a share ; the other sort, called norward nets, containing between fifteen and ten fathoms in length, and in deepness five ranns, every rann fifty moxes deep ; every four of these nets taking a share : so that every boat in this voyage, taking three shares and a half, having twelve men, taking a share a man, and having thirtj'-six flews, alias heaks, and thirty-two norward nets, every four norward nets taking a share, maketh thirty shares in the whole number, and one half-share, viz., for the boat, three shares and a half; for twelve men, six shares; for thirty-six flews, twelve shares; for thirty-two norward nets, eight shares; for the vicar, the town, and the master, one share ; and if there be more or less number of men and nets, or if the boat be bigger or lesser, then the shares are more or less in number, according to that proportion." The Ancienl Custom used in Cock. Fare. — "Item. There have, time out of mind, between October and the midst of December, used to go to sea upon the coast for herrings, certain small boats called cocks ^ of burden, between two and six tons. Every of these boats having a mast and a sail, hath used to talce a share and a half; and the other, without mast or sail, have taken a share. These boats have used two sorts of nets, the one called cock Jieaks, containing between thirty and twenty-four fathoms in length, and two ranns in deepness, and the other called flews, containing the length aforesaid, and three ranns in deepness. These two sorts of nets have used to take for three nets a share, one with another ; so that a boat in this voyage taking a share and a half, having six men, and,twenty-four nets, maketh ten shares and a half, viz., for the boat, one share and a half; for .six men, six shares; for twenty-four nets, eight shares ; and for the Vicar, the town, and the master, one shai'e ; and so the shares do vary, more or less in number, according to the bigness of the boat, and the number of men and nets." The Ancient Custom used in Flew Fare. — " Item. There have, time out of mind, between the beginning of November and the end of December, used to go to the sea for herrings, other boats, called fleu-crs, of divers burden, between eight tons and twenty tons, the biggest boat taking three shares, the smallest two shares. ' Heak is still used in Torksliire for a certahi net used in the river Oiise. * Mores we may suppose to be a corruption from the Dutch word maeschcn, mishea, and fare from fahre, in the same language. Indeed, most of the other technical words in the Town Books are derived from the Teutonic, and were' apparently introduced by the Flemish emigrants who are supposed to have settled at Brighthelmston. 3 Cock, fi'om the Teutonic cor/ge, a small boat. AlfCIEXT CTTSTOMS. 31 Every man having above three nets groing to sea in this voyage, hath used to take for his body lialf a share, and every other man a share, aud none above. These boats have used one sort of nets, called flows, containing between thirty and twenty- four fatJioms in length, and three ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep, every three nets taking a share : so that every boat taking three shares, having eight men, taking half a share a man, and having thirty-niue nets, maketh twenty-one shares, viz., f«r the boat, three shares; for eight men, four shares; for thirty-nino nets, thirteen shares ; and one share for the vicar, the town, and the master, or more or less shares according to the number of men and nets, and the bigness of the boat." Tlw Ancient Custom used in H.\rbouk Fake.—" Item. There have used, time out of mind, another sort of boats to go to sea in summer time, with harbour hooks for conger, evorj' boat containing eight tons or thereabouts, and taking for every boat two shares ; and every man having four lines of hooks, every line containing fifty fathoms, taketh a share ; and twelve lines of hooks without a man taketh a share. So that a boat having twelve men taking a share a man, and twelve lines of hooks without men, maketh in number fifteen shares, viz., for the boat, two shares; for twelve men, twelve shares ; for twelve lines of hooks, one share ; and one share for the vicar, the town, and the master, or more or less number of shares according to the number of men and hooks." The Ancient Custom used in DK-iAVXET Fare. — " Item. There have used, time out of mind, in the months of May and June, yearly, certain small cocks, of the burden of three tons, or thereabouts, to draw mackarel by the shore, whereof the boat and the net take one half, the other half is divided by shares unto the men, to every man a share ; and one share is also thereof made for the vicar, the town, and the master : so that if there be ten men, then they make eleven shares, viz., ten men, ten shares ; and one share for the vicar, the town, and the master ; and if there be more men, then they make more shares." The Ancient Custom for Fai/meni and Umploi/iny the Qu.vrter Share. — ^'^ Item, The master of every boat at Brighthelmston, at St. Stephen's Day, next after his return from any fishing voyage, wheresoever or whensoever it was begun, had, or contii.ucd, hath used to divide and pay out of the whole profits of the said boat, without diminution or deduction to any stranger going in the said boat, to be made, the said quarter share unto the Churchwardens of Brighthelmston for the time being, and b ilf a share to the vicar there for the time being, and the other he hath for his own use." — '■■Item. The master of every boat of Briffhth Imston had, time out of mind, used to take up and pay out of the whole profits of e^ ery voyage, whether the rest ol' his cnmpanions be of Brighthelmston, or strangers of other parishes, the t:iid whole share for the vicar, the town, and himself, without any deduction thereof un'o any o.her tov^-n or parish, or the parson, vicar, or proprietary thereof, to be madr : and if the master, or any of his company, have been of BrightJielmston, and tie boat belonging to any other place, then the said master aUo hath used to make in the snid boat the aforesaid share, whereof he hath had a quarter to himself, and jf the other three quarters for the town and vicar of Brighthelmston, he hath used :o have proportionably, according to the number of men and nets which he used and had out of Brighthebnston in the voyage." — '■^ Item. The said wardens used to employ the snid quarter share, especially upon building of forts and walls towards the sea, for the defence of the said town, and for provision of shot and powder, aiid other furniture for that purpose; and entertainment of .soldiirs in time of wars, ar.d other public sor\'ice of the prince, and mainteu.ance of the parish church. Where- upon, to the intent that the said annual payment, or quarter share, for the better defen''e and maintenance of the said town, may, in time to come, justly and trulv, without fraud, be both made, yielded, and paid; and ai=o preserved, kept, and employed, according to their ancient custom ; as also for the avoiding of all such 82 HISTOET 01" BBIGHTHELMSTON. controversies as heretofore have commonly happened between the said fishermen, touching the just and equal division of their fish in every boat in every voyage, and the profits and charges thereof, the said Lord Buckhurst and Richard Shelley, Esq. Laving the said fishermen before them at Brighthelmston, the 23rd day of July, anno Bomini, 1580, have, by authority aforesaid, and with the consent of the said fishermen, devised and set down to writing, certain orders to be hereafter for ever used and kept by all the fishermen and inhabitants of the said town of Bnghthelm- stoii, in manner and form following : Orders for Length of Nets. — " Imprimis. None shall have any norward net under twenty yards long by the uppermost rann, nor any such net in a boat of thirty tons or upwards, under five ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep or there- abouts ; nor in any other boat any norward net under four ranns deep, at any time after the first day of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand five hundred four score and one, under pain to forfeit for every net under the said sizes, six shillings." — " I/ein. Whoever .shall h^yejlciv alias hcak, under twenty-eight yards in length by the uppermost rann, and four ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep or thereabouts, at any time after the first day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred four score and one, shall forfeit for every such Jleu' ten shillings." — " Item. Whosoever shall have any shortnet under twenty-eight yards in length, by the uppermost rann, and two ranns in deepness, every rann fifty moxes deep, or thereabouts, at any time after the first day of April next ensuing, shall for- feit for every such net three shillings and fourpence : and whosoever shall have any cocksheak under twenty-eight yards in length by the uppermost rann, and two ranns in deepness, at any time after the first day of October, in anno Bomini, one thousand five hundred four score and one, shall forfeit for every such net three shillings and fourpence. Provided always that none of the foi'feitures before mentioned shall, at any time, extend to any norward net, flew, shortnet, or cocksheak spoiled in length at sea, and newly brought home from any voyage ; so that the said net or nets so spoiled be made of the several lengths and deepness in the former orders mentioned, before they be occupied again in any voyage." — " Item. The constable, the church- wardens, being sea-faring men, or any twoof them, shall, four times a-year, if they shall think it needful, search, view, and measure the length and deepness of any man's nets in Briglithelmston, and he that shall let (hinder) them or any of them so to do, the party for every time so letting shall forfeit twenty shillings " Orders for Shakes /o>- Men. — '■'■ Im])rimis. No man having gone to sea in Shotnet fare, above six nets, or in Yarmouth fare, or Fleiv fare, above six norward nets, or four flews, alias heaks, and^a half, shall take any more than half a share for his body, in any of the said voyages, upon pain to forfeit for every time so doing, ten shillings." — " Item. Whoever shall give to any person having in Shotnet fare above six nets, or in Yarmouth fare or Flew fare, above six norward nets, or above four flows and a half, any more than half a share, shall forfeit for every time so doing, ten shillings." — Item.. That no man shall take or give any more than a share for a man's body in Shotnet fare, Yarmouth fare, Cock fare, or Flew fare, upon pain to foifeit, either of them, for every time so doing, twenty shillings." — '■'■Item. That no man shall give to any stranger, not dwelling in Brighthelmston, any more than a share for his travel in any voyage, upon pain of fuifeiting for any time so doing, twenty shillings."—" Hoti. That none shall give to any stranger, any share, or part of share, in any other boat but only in the same boat where the said party is placed, upon pain of forfeiture of twenty shillings for every time so doing." — Item. That no man shall hire any person at the first shipping, to go for wages in any voyage except Sc.'tr borough voyage, upon pain to foifeit for every time so doing, ten shillings." — "Item. That no man being entertained by any boat, or by any man, unto any voyage, shall place hiuisolf in any other boat, or with any other man, upon pain of forfeiting, as well by the party so entertained, as by him that shall entertain ANCIENT cirsax)M8. 83 any such person, for every time so doing, twenty shillings." — " Item. That no man going to Scarborough in a bark going with gi-ound hooks, having a line, a lead, four lines of hooks, two norward nets, and one heak of five ranns deep, shall take for his body, and all the said necessaries, any moro than two shares ; and if any man bring any more nets than is before mentioned, and do fish with them in the said voyage, then he shall bo allowed for tho same nets after the rate of two norward nets, and a heak to a share ; and whosoever shall give or take anything contrary to this order, shall forfeit for every time so doing, ten shillings." — " Ilein. That no man going to Scarborough in a boat with a drove sail, having two lines, two leads, and one heak of twenty-one yards in length, and five ranns in deepness, shall take any more than a share and a half for his body, and tho necessaries aforesaid ; and if ho have two linos, two leads, and two heaks, then he shall tako two shares, and not above ; and if ho bring more nets, then ho shall be allowed after tho rato of his nets according to tho proportion of four nets to a share, and every heak to bo allowed for two nets ; and what person soover, shall give or take anything itt this voyage contrary to this order, shall foi-feit for every time so doing, twenty shillings." — "/few. It shall be lawful for tho owner and master of every boat or bark going to Scarborough, at tho return of every such boat or bark from the said voyage, to take up, before sharing, so much of tho fish as, being indifferently piized by the whole company, will pay all the charges that shall be then owing for tho said voyage, so that they become chai'geablo to the creditors ; which fish, being so prized and taken, tho warden or wardens, and tho Vicar or his deputy, paying the same price in ready money, shall have, if they or any of them require it." — '■'■Item. If there shall be any sti-anger master in any boat of Brighfhclmston in any voyage, then the owner shall take up and pay the half share for the Vicar of BrigUhchmton, and the quarter share for the town, iipon pain of every owner doing the contrary, to forfeit for every such default twenty shilliugs."—"/fcOT. No man shall take or give above a share and a quarter for any man's travel in Tucknet fare, upon forfeiture of ten shillings, to be paid by tho giver, and also by the taker for every time so doing." — '■'■Item. No owner of any tucker or tucknet shall tako any moro than four shares for the boat, the nets, and the arms, viz., for tho boat and the nets, three shares ; and for the arms, one share, upon pain to forfeit, for every time so doing, twenty shillings."— " Item. No man going to sea with harbours shall take for his body any moro than one share, nor for twelve lines of hooks any more than one share ; and so for more or lijss proportionably ; and any man that shall take or give anything contrary to this order, shall forfeit for every time so doing, ten shillings." — " Item. To tho intent tho said quarter share may hereafter be truly paid without fraud or guile, every owner and master of every boat, in every voyage, shall call tliu Vicar, or his deputy or deputies, to all and every their several accounts at the end of every their several voyages, (Cock fare. Tuck fare, Harbour fare, only excepted, for which thi'oe ono only account by every m:i,stor and owner at the end of every voyage, shall be made), and in his presence shall make a true and particular account of all their charges, profits, and shares, upon pain for every owner and master, for every time doing tho contrary, to forfeit twenty .shillings ; a note whereof the said Vicar or his deputy shall give In writing unto the wardens yearly, at St. Stephen's Dag, upon pain of twenty shillings to bo forfeited by tho said Vicar." " Orders for Hooks, and going to Sea.—*' Imprimis. That every lino of small hooks shall contain \\\ length nine score yards and not above ; and whosoever shall have any lino of hooks above tho said length, at any time after the first day of August, in anno Domini one thousand fivo hundred four score and one, shall forfeit for every such line, twenty .shillings : and that no man shall bring to sja at any time any more than four lines of the aforesaid hooks : and every man shall pay the seventh fish to the boat, of throo of his lines, oxcept the master of tho boat, and tho young men who are called taclieners ; tho which master shall have all the fishing of D 34 HISTORT OF BTliaHTHELMSTOir. his four lines, ^\^thout paying any duty to the boat ; and the said tacheners shall have for the keeping of the boat, the fishing of every their fourth line without paying any duty to the boat ; and whosoever shall do anything contrary to this order, shall forfeit for every time so doing, twenty shillings. And if any boat shall come to mishap through the default of the tacheners, that then the said tuclicncra shall pay for the hurt of the same boat, to the value of the same hurt." — " Item. Any man that shall lose any small hooks at sea, shall have for eveiy line so lost two shillings, to be paid unto hiDi by the company in equal portions." — " Item. If there be four lines or more lost in any boat, then the whole of the fish, except the boat's part, shall be equally divided among the company ; and any man that hath lost any of the same hooks, shall be allowed two shillings for every line so lost, to be paid by the whole company in equal portions." — " Item. Every man that shall lose any heak, norward net, or shotnet, in any fishing voyage, shall be allowed by the company for every heak so lost, ten shillings ; and for every norward net so lost, ten shillings, and for every shotnet so lost, four shillings, and not above." — " Item. That no man, being an inhabitant of this town, shall drive with nets for herrings between Shoreham Haven and Beach (Beachy Read) on any Satui-day night or Sunday, until evening prayer be done, upon pain to forfeit for every time so doing, twenty shillings." — '■'■Item. That no man shall drive with any tucknet at any time before sun-ri.sing, or after sun-setting, upon pain to forfeit, for every time so doing, ten shillings " — '■'Item. That no man .shall go to sea with tucknet to fish for plaice before Slirove Tuesday yearly, upon pain of forfeiture of ten shillings for every time so doing." — "Item. If there shall at any time any boat of this town be cast away through the default of the master and the company, then the master and his company to be answerable to the owner for the same boat." " Orders for the Payment of the Quarter Share. — " Imprimis. Every master of every boat in every voyage shall divide, receive, and take up the said quarter share accordingly, as it hath been used heretofore, and is before ordered, and not otherwise ; and the same shall well and truly pay yearly, upon the feast of St. Stephen, to the Church wai'dens for the time being, in the place where it has been accustomably paid in former times : and if any master in any boat, in any voyage' shall not divide and take up as aforesaid, or shall detain the said quarter shai'e, and not pay the same unto the Churchwardens at the end of every voyage, at the place above-mentioned, before the feast of the Epiphany yearly then next following, that then every such master, for every time so doing, shall forfeit the double value of the same quarter share that he so detained, or not divided, or not taketh up." — " Item^ If there be in any tucker or cock in the time of TucJcnet Fare or Cock Fare, any more than one master during the voyage, then the owner or first master of any such tucker or cock shall account for and pay the whole quarter share due for all that voyage, and therewithal shall dehver unto the said Churchwardens, a note in writing, of the names of all the other masters in that voyage, upon pain of forfeiting twenty shillings by the owner." " Orders for the CHUUCHT>fARDENS. — " Imprimis.- There shall be yearly, at the time accustomed, two substantial fishermen and one such landman, chosen by the consent of the constable, the vicar or curate, and the chief of the town, for Church- wardens."—" Item. The same Churchwardens, nor any of them, shall not employ nor disbur.se any of the money to be kept by the sea-faring and land wardens, to any other use than for the reparation of the church, and for necessary public charges for the town, without the consent of the constable, the vicar or curate, and six substantial mm of the pari.sh, first bad in writing, of which B,\Ti, four shall bo fishermen and tv;o landmen, upon pain of paying all sums of money laid out contrary to this ordi r, at and upon the charges of the .-^aid wardens." — " Item.. The same Churchwardens shall yearly, at the time accustomed, yield up a ti-ue wd perfect account, in writing, of all receipts, reprises, and charges for all that ANCIENT CUSTOMS. SS year, and the money then remaining shall then deliver up into the hands of the wardens, their successors, in presence of the constable, the vicar or curate, and the parishioners, upon pain of forfeiting by him or thorn that shall do the contrary, forty shillings, and shall bo chargeable nevertheless with his account before the Com- missioners " — '■^ Item. Every forfeiture before or hereafter mentioned growing by reason of any matter pertaining to the sea or fishing, shall be paid unto the wardens being fishermen, and every other forfeiture unto the land wai-dens." — '■'■ Itciii. If the Churchwardens shall neglect to demand any of the said forfeitures for the space of six days next after his or their knowledge thereof, then he or they for every time 80 neglecting, shall pay unto the poor man's box of BrighUielmsion, three shillings and four ponce, or else answer it before the Commissioners." — '■^ Item. Whosoever shall not, within five days next after demand in that case by the wardens, or any of them, for the time being, to be made, pay unto the said wardens, or one of them, all such of the said forfeitures as they then from time to time, at any time hereafter, shall have made, then his or their name or names not paying such forfeitures as aforesaid, shall bo signified in writing. under the hands of the constable, the vicar or curate, and the said wardens, unto the Commissioners, to be bound to appeiir before the lords of the Council. ' ' — ^'■Item. That so much of the said quarter share as shall amount to the double value of the contribution (of the landmen) shall be kept employed and accounted for indifferently by all the Church wai'dens in such sort as is aforesaid, and the residue of the said quarter share shall bo remaining in custody of the sea-wardens, who .shall not employ or disburse any part or parcel thereof, but for the common profit of the town, and that only with tho consent of the constable, being a fisher- man, the vicar, and six other fishermen being of the Twelve, in -writing first had and obtained, and thereof shall make a true and particular account in ^vriting, in tho presence of the said constable, churchwardens, and fishermen, at the time accus- tomed ; and the money remaining shall then yield up unto the sea-wardens, their successors, upon pain to forfeit for every time doing the contrary, the double value of every sum, contrary to this order, employed, not accounted for, or not yielded up as aforesaid, and shall be chargeable also with the same before tho commissioners." — " Item. The rents, profits, and commodities of the mill and town house, and of all other lands, tenements, and hereditaments which now do belong and appertain, or hereafter shall belong and appertain to the said town of Brighthelmston, shall be yearly paid and answered unto the churchwardens ; and that the same, and every part thereof, shall and may, from time to time, be disposed, demised, and let out to farm, for the term of seven years at tho most, by the said constables and wardens, so as always the same be done to the best profit and coranrdity of the said town, upon pain that every one therein offending, shall forfeit five pounds, and besides to answer for his offence in that behalf before the said commissioners." — '■'■Item. Tho same churchwardens, shall have in readiness at all times hereafter, in some con- venient place in Brighlhehmton, to be laid up in store, and safely kept, four barrels of powder, and forty round shot, and ten chain shot for every great piece." — " Item. There shall be selected by tho said commissioners out of the ancientost, gravest, and wisest inhabitants, eight fishermen and four landsmen, for assistants to the con- stable in every public cause, whereof every one shall bo ready, and give his atten- dance up'in tho constable as oft as need shall require : and whosoevoi' shall presume to call together any assembly, to tho intent to practice or put in use any manner, or device, or art touching the government of the said town, without the privitj', consent, and command of the said constable and assistants shall forfeit for every time so doing, forty shillings. And to tho intent that the said Twelve grave and wiso men may have continuance, therefore, upon the death or removing of any one of them, it shall bo lawful for the constable, and the residue of the said Twelve, or for the most part of them, to choose in supply such other of the said town, as by tbem, or the more part of them, shall be thought nieet, provided that such choice IV 2 86 HISTOBY OP BEIGHTHTlLirSTOlT. shall bo always ratified and allowed by the stewards of the lords of the said town, or by such one of them as shall happen to keep court in the said town, next after such choice made, or otherwise the same choice to be void : and if such choice shall by the said stewards, or by such one of them as shall fortune to be present as aforesaid, be disallowed, until a sufficient man, in the judgment of the said stewards, be chosen."— "Kcw. If any man hath heretofore built, erected, or set up any wall, shed, or any such like thing whatsoever, to the annoyance of the market place, or of the block house there, and shall not, upon warning given him by the constable, or his depiity for the time being, pull down or i-emove away the same within ten days after such warning given, that then he shall forfeit five pounds, and be further punished by discretion of the commissioners."—" Item. Forasmiich, as the town is overcharged with the multitude of poor people, which daily are thought to increase by means of receiving under-tenants, lodging of strangers, and the disorder of tippling-houses, and that the constable cannot, without further assistance, take upon him the whole oversight and charge of all the parts of the town in this behalf, it is" thought meet that every one of the Twelve shall have assigned upon him some street or circuit near his dwelling-house, where he shall, as deputy '.to the constable, have special charge for the keeping of good order ; and especially to see that the order for the avoidance of under tenants, be duly observed ; aad that none lodge or keep tippling houses." — '■'■Item. All the acts, receipts, reprises, and charges and accounts of the town, shall, from time to time, as they are had, made, and done, be entered into a register book by the clerk for that purpose, by the constable, vicar, and church- wardens for the time being, to be chosen." — " Item. The master and owner, or one of them, of every boat, in every voyage, at every sharing and account, without further delay, shall deliver up into the custody of the churchwai-dens, or one of them, or of one or more indififerently to be deputed or appointed by the said vicar, and churchwardens, the said half-share and quarter-shai-e, -without diminution or retention thereof, to be by the said wardens, or him or them so deputed, safely kept until St. Stephen's Day yearly then next following, to the use, for the half-share, of the vicar, and for the quarter-share, to the use of the town, upon pain for every owner and master for not delivering up as is aforesaid, to forfeit for every time forty shillings, and to be further punished by the discretion of the commissioners." — " .And tvliereas there hath been a controversy of long time between the said fisher- men, being the greater part of the parish, and the husbandmen and artificers there, as well for that of the reparations of the church, as all other public charges, which hath been great, as building of forts and walls, provision of shot and powder, and other necessaries for the defence of the town against foreign enemies, have been sustained and borne by the said quarter share of the said fishermen only (except a small annuity or yearly rent of two windmills, whereof one is now utteidy decayed) ; as well for the utter extinguishment of all such controversy and division, as also for the better increase of amity and noighboui-ly friendship among the said parties, the said Lori Duck/iwst and RicharA Sficllci/, Esquire, have likewise caused to be set down here in writing at the place, and in the day and year aforesaid, the names of all such husbandmen and artificers which are of ability within the said town, and the several sums of money w.iich cvtv of them, by then- several consents, have granted yearly to be paid for, and in name of a contribution towards the charges aforesaid." — "Rate of the husbandmen anc. pjtificers yearly to be paid on St. Stephen's Day, to the chui-chwardens, towards the reparations of the church, and other public charges of the town. ■»**#* ^f There ai-e also in the said town of Brighthelmston, of fishing boats four score in number, and of able mariners foar hundred in number, with ten thousand fishing nets, besides many other necessaries belonging to theu- mystery, all which being matters of great charge, require very great maiatenauce and reparation, and are like ANCTENT CXrSTOHS. 37 hereafter rather to decay than to increase, by reason the said fishermen fvX txi^ ;^ -^ 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 ^ XX X ^ t^< "^ 64 65 66 67 68 G9 70 71 72 73 It is conjectured by some autiquarians that the above marks are symbols of the trade or occupation of those who assented to the foregoing recited orders ; their opinion being formed from the cir- cumstance of Stoncham, the constable, being a ship carpenter, and attaching a hatchet to his name ; and for the same reason the supposi- tion is that Oston, from his sign was a butcher, Good, a wheel- ANCIENT crrsTOMS. 39 Wright, and Mellershe a millwright. The rest seem wholly un- intelligible. In the year 1580, Lord JBucJchicrst and Mr. Shelley made a new order concerning the penalty falling on the owner or lessor of any house let without the written consent of the constable and churchwardens, which was henceforth to be levied from the under- tenant, as well as from the said owner or lessee. And in the year 1592, they made another order, which subjected absentees, Avho owned houses or any other tenements within the parish, to contribute to the public charges of the said parish, in proportion to their possessions there, as if they were residents. In case of contumacious resistance or neglect of the said orders, the constable, or his deputy, and the churchwardens, or any two of them, of which the constable or his deputy being one, were authorised by the above-named commissioners, to imprison such as offended in that particular until they shall be contented to observe and keep the same. It seems, however, that this commission terminated with the life of Lord Euckhurst, who died in 1608 ; for we find the in- habitants of Bri(jldhehiiston, in ten years after, revising and ratifj-ing " the ancient customs heretofore used among and between the fisher- men and landsmen" there, "and orders out of the said customs taken and made," without the authority or interference of any superior ; and as these customs must be materially directive of the internal polity of the town even at this day, the following copy of them, with a few comments on their immediate relevancy to the present parochial constitution of Brighthelmston, will not be unacceptable to many readers. " Uponi agreement made by and between tbc ancient fishermen and landmen of the town of Brif^htholraston, in the county of Sussex, the second day of February, 1618, for remedy and redress of certain disorders in their said town, as also for the better increase of brotherly love and amity for ever hereafter between the said fisher- men and landmen, and for the annual payment of certain money called a quarter of a share, heretofore of ancient time usually paid out of every boat in every fishing voyage, to the churchwardens there, towards the maintenance of the church and other public charges about the necesaaiy defence of the town ; and of a certain con- tribution by the rest of the inhabitants, being landmen, towai'ds the bearing of the said charges, to be had and levied ; and for the purposes aforesiud the said fishermen and landmen, having met and assembled together, here have set down in writing * Second Town Book, or Costumal of Brighthelmston, 40 HISTOBY OP BKIOHTHELMSTON. their ancient customs and orders concerning the true making, paying, and emplopng the said quarter share; and also of the paying and employing of the said landmen's contribution, or yearly rate for the uses aforesaid, and for the certainty and true pay- ment thereof in manner and form hereafter following : — " Tlie Ancioit Custom for Fmjmcnt and Employing the Quarter Share. — Imjrrimis. It is concluded and agieed between the said fishermen and landmen, the day and year above mentioned, that they, the said fishermen, shall yearly make as they have done time out of mind, a quarter of a share out of every fishing boat in every fishing voyage ; and the same so being made, shall yearly and every year pay, at the end of every voyage, unto the fishermen churchwardens for the time being, without diminution or deduction, the said quarter share, to be by them and the other churchwarden, kept and employed unto the only and proper use of the town in the common town box, until the new constable shall be chosen yearly." — " Item. It is agreed between the said landmen and fishermen above said, that the said landmen shall yearly and every year pay and bring unto the said common town-bos, in or upon the second day of February, commonly called Candlemas Bay, yearly, half so much money ^ as the aforesaid quarter share shall amount unto ; there to be by all the said chiu-chwardens kept and employed unto the general and public use of the town." — " Item. It is further concluded and agreed upon between the said fisliermen and the said landmen, that all manner of town charges whatsoever (the king's composition or customary wheat only excepted) shall be taken out of the common town box, "whether it be for the maintenance of the church, the communion bread and wine, the maintenance of the lecture, the clerk and sexton's wages, the lights in the fire cage, the paying the king's majesty's oats and coals, and the setting forth of soldiers or sailors^ and all manner of other necessary and public town charge shall be taken out of the said common town box, by and with the consent of the constable and churchwardens for the time being, and six other, whereof four to bo of the sea, two of the land." — " Item. It is further ordered by and between the said fishermen and landmen, that if it shall happen that the said quarter share and the land contribution will not at any time amount and countervail the whole charge that shall arise and grow by reason of any extraordinary charge happening, that then the constable and churchwardens, and six other of the said inhabitants shall tax, rate, and cess all the said inhabitants proportionably, every one according to their estate and ability." — ^'- Item. It is also agreed between the said fishermen and landmen that the churchwardens, every year, shall collect and gather and bring in unto the com- mon town-box the said quarter share, and the warders for sea causes to collect and gather it ; and the land-warden being with one of the sea-wardens shall also yearly, and every year, bring into the said common town-box the rate or taxation of the other inhabitants not being fishermen ; which rate or taxation every year ought to amount to half so much as the said quarter of a share doth yearly ; and also shall gather, receive, and take up all rents and other land profits belonging to the town, as the rent of the town-house, town mills, and Bartholomews, which, being so received, shall yearly bring into the said town box, there to be kept up to the general use of the town." '■^ Orders concerning the Go^^&TKai.^.—'-'' Item. It is further agreed between the said fishermen and landmen, that the constable of the said town shall yearly have for and towards his labour and pains taken in that behalf, and for and towards his charges and expenses, the sum of twenty-five shillings, eight pence, of lawful money of Enyland, to be paid unto him out of the said common town-box, and also that every constable, whether he be a landman or a fisherman, shall yearly have, and quietly enjoy, to his own use, without any let, molestation, or trouble, one horse lease."—" Item. It is also ordered between the said fishermen and the said landmen, 1 This waa a larger contribution than the landmen had been used to make. ANCIENT CtrSTOMS. 41 that the two headboroughs of the said town, shall have yearly for their pains and troubles in their oflSce, the sum of five shillings, eight pence, a-piece, to be paid unto them out c)f the said comnion town-box ; and also shall have and quietly enjoy to their own use, one cow lease, and twenty-five sheep leases, according to the ancient custom." — ^^ Item. It is also ordered, that there shall be selected and chosen out of the said ancientest, gravest, and wisest iiiliabitauts, eight fishermen and four land- men, for assistants to the constable in every public cause, whereof every one shall be ready to give his attendance upon the constable as often as need shall require : and whosoever shall presume to call together any assembly to the intent to practice or put in use any manner of device or act touching the government of the said town, without the privilege, consent, and commandment of the said constable and assistants, shall forfeit for every time so doing, forty shillings : and to the intent that the choice of the said twelve grave and wise men, may have a continuance, therefore, upon the death or removing of any one of the said Twelve, or of the most part of them, to choose in supply such other of the said town as by them, or the most part of them, shall be thought meet, provided always that such choice shall be always ratified and allowed by the stewards of the lords of the said town, at the law day when tho constable is chosen, or by such one of them as shall happen to keep such court in the said town, or otherwise the said choice to be void : and if eveiy such choice shall bo by the said stewards, or by such one of them as shall fortune to be present as aforesaid, be disallowed, until a sufficient man or such sulHcient men, shall be, in the judgment of the same steward, elected and chosen." — '■'■Item. For as much as the town is overcharged with the multitude of poor people, which daily are thought to increase by means of receiving under tenants, lodging and harbouring of strangers, and the great disorder of tippling-houses ; and that the constable cannot without further assistance, take upon himself tho whole oversight and charge of all the parts of the town ; in this behalf, it is thought meet that every one of the said Twelve shall have assigned unto him some place, street, or circuit of the said town, near about his dwelling house, where he shall, as deputy to the constable, have special charge for the keeping of good order ; and especially to see that the order for tho avoiding under tenants be duly observed and kept ; and that none lodge or keep tippling without license." — Item. "For as much as the said inhabitants of tho said town of BrighthclmstoH, hath of long time, and yet still are to the making hereof, been over-charged and suppressed by the multitude of poor people, which daily are thought to increase by the means of many .ale-house keepers and victuallers which do harbour and receive all comers and goers, to the great hurt and hindorance of the said inhabitants, and doth still sell and keep ale and beer without license, and against the said inhabitants' consent, it is now ordered by the said inhabitants, for the suppressing of the said number of ale-houses and victualling-houses, that from henceforth for ever hereafter none of the said inhabitants what.soevcr .shall at any time hereafter, draw, sell, or keep any victualling or ale-house within the said town without a letter or testimonial of tho said inhabitant.s, in writing, first had and obtained, by and with tho consent of the constable, vicar, or curate, and six other substantial men of the said inliabitants, whereof four to be of the seamen, and two of the landmen in their behalf, to be made imto the Justices of the King's Majesty's Peace, whereby they, and so many of them, and not more, may be lawfully licensed to use the said trade of victualling and ale-house keeping ; and also that such a competent number may be by the said Ju.stitcs of the King's Majesty's Peace (whereof one to be of the quorum), and by and with the consent of the said inhabitants, nominated and appointed : and that none other of the said inhabitants may use or occupy the said trade of victualling or ale-house keeping in the said town, but so many of them as shall bo lawfully hcenscd as is aforesaid, upon pain and peril of every one so doing contrary to the true meaning of this present order, to forfeit for every ban-el of beer eo drawn, six shillings and eight pence." — '■'■Item, If any man 42 HISTOEY OF BElGHTnELMSTON. hath heretofore builded, ei;6cted, or set up any house, wall, pale, shed, or any such like thing whatever ; or if any hereafter shall erect, build, or set up any house, wall, shed, pale, or any such like thing whatsoever, to the annoyance of the market-place, or of the block-house there, and shall not, upon warning given him by the constable, or his deputy for the time being, pull down or remove away the same within ten days after such warning given, that then, he shall forfeit the sum of five pounds." " Orders for Payment of the Quartek Share. — These being almost literally the same as those presented to, and ratified by, Lord Bxckhurst and Mr Shelley, in 1580, are purposely omitted ; as are also, for the same reason, the Orders for the Length of Nets in this second book of Customs." " Orders concernwri the Landmen. — Item. It is ordered, that the constable and churchwardens of Brighthelmston for the time being, with two or three of the substantial landmen, shall yearly cess, tax, and rate towards the common charge of the town, as well all the landmen, husbandmen, and artificers, and all of the inhabitants having land there ; and also all such persons as have lands, tenements, or other yearly profits by land, in the said town, and dwell in other places, accorduig to the quantity of their lands, tenements, and profits, pro- portionably with the said inhabitants ; the which cessment, rate, or taxation, shall be yearly made and set down in writing, under the hands of the said constable, churchwardens, and substantial landmen, before the feast day of Epiphany., and shall amount unto half as much as the quarter share shall come unto yearly ; and further it is ordered, that such persons as dwell in other places, and have in their o^vn occupation within the said town, lands, tenements, or other yearly profits, shall likewise yearly pay all such sums of money as they, and every of them, in manner and form aforesaid, shall be rated and taxed, upon pain of such forfeitures and punishments as are to be inflicted on the inhabitants of the said town, for not paying such sums of money as they, in like sort, shall be cessed, taxed, or rated." — '■'■Item.. Whosoever, being a landman, husbandman, artificer, or inhabitant, or every other occupier of land or tenements of and in the said town, that shall not yearly, before the feast day of the Purification of St. Marij, pay unto the Churchwardens for the time being, all such sum or sums of money as he or they shall be cessed, rated or taxed, shaU for every time so doing, forfeit the double value thereof." — '■'■Item. If any owner or lessee of any house in Brighthelmston, admit any tenant or tenants, under-tenant or under-tenants, into his said house, except the said tenant or tenants shall, by the opinion of the constable and the churchwardens in writing first to be Bet down, be thought of sufficient ability to maintain himself and his family without burdening the town, then the owner and lessee shall, for every month that any such tenant, not being estimated as aforesaid, shall inhabit or dwell in his house, to forfeit unto the use of the poor of the said town, ten shillings." — " Item. That whereas it is before ordered, that the owner and lessee of any house in Brighthelmston, in case he admitted any under-tenant, without the consent of the constable and chuich- wardens, first had in writing, shall forfeit monthly during the abode or inhabiting of any such under-tenant not being approved as aforesaid, monthly, ten shillings. Now forasmuch as the said penalties cannot conveniently be levied of such owners as are not resident or abiding within the town, and that the town is more burdened and charged with poor than heretofore it hath been, it is now further ordered, that the penalties for eveiy default contrary to the said order, shall be extended in all points as well against the under-tenants, as against the said lessee or owner." " The orders for the churchwardens in this town book, being in substance the same with those before transcribed from the former, they need not here be repeated. AJfCIENT CUSTOMS. 43 " The immemorial existence of the above customs in the town of Brighthelmston, is incontestible even at this day : and though some of them be now obsolete on account of the great changes which the town has experienced during the present century, no part of its existing polity can legally run counter to those ancient customs, except upon sanction of an Act of Parliament, or where the right of exercising them has been c\*idently given up. The commission- ers in 1580, only investigated and affixed publicity and order to those customs : and their subsequent orders to the inhabitants, were no more than what a bench of justices may issue at the present day. The independent style of the ancient fishermen and landmen in the second book, seems to be that of men who were conscious of a prescriptive right of legislation in certain matters within their own parish : and the Saxon constitution, whose equitable and benign spirit stQl feebly pervades what we now call the British Constitution, granted the same right to every parish all over England. " The custom of choosing three churchwardens annually is stiU exercised, though the cause of it has ceased to exist for more than half a century past. But the customary existence of twelve assistants and advisers to the constable has ceased, though the occasion for which they were first instituted still remains, nay, increases commensui-ately with the population of the town. The ancient society of the twelve shall therefore be revived. That such a society did once exist, by custom, caanot be denied : and the mere neglect of a custom for ever so many years is no deseasance of the right to exercise it at any subsequent period. But its revival shall not be for the creation or benefit of a party. Political equality is the birth-right of every Briton ; and no civil power can be lawful which emanated not originally from the assent of society, and is invariably exercised for the public good. The Twelve therefore shall be chosen by ballot at a public meeting of all the inhabitants, and every future vacancy in that bod)- filled by public election in the same manner. The gentleman who presides at present at the court lect of the town, there is every reason to suppose, would cheerfully ratify so respectable an election ; and the police of so populous a parish would, J in futm-c, bo managed with signal 44 HISTOKT OP BEIOHTKELMSTON. vigilcflce, under the inspection of twelve chosen guardians of the public peace and prosperity. " It was the discontinuance of the ancient society of the Twelve, that made it necessary to appoint commissioners by act of Parliament, in the year 1772, for lighting and cleaning the streets, lanes, and other places within the town of Brighthelmston; as also for removing and preventing nuisances, holding and regulating a daily market there, and building and repairing groynes, in order to render the coast more safe and commodious for vessels to unload and land sea- coal, culm, and other coal, for the use of the town: and in order to enable the said commissioners to accomplish these public and service- able ends, they are allowed by the act, a duty of sixpence on every chaldron of coal or cxxlm so landed. As it is not unlikely a question may hereafter arise concerning the precincts of the commissioners' power, it may not here be unseasonable to consider how far it extends. As the letter of the act seems to confine it to the limits of the town, the sagacity of litigation may discover that the buildings erected since the year 1772, in the then common fields and environs of Brighthelmston, could not have been in contempla- tion of the framers of the act, inasmuch as those buildings were not then in esse. But as there never were any fixed boundaries to the town, as ftxr as continuous buildings and population reach within the parish, so far, I conceive, shall the town, and consequently the power of the commissioners, be admitted always to extend. Otherwise, indeed, the act would be abortive and absurd. These commissioners were originally sixty-four in number, and constituted of the most respectable inhabitants in the town. Many vacancies by death and removal, have since occurred, and been very properly filled by election among the existing members. Yet I am so fuUy assured of the evil tendency in general, as well as the injustice of political monopoly of every kind, that I regret the right of election on those occasions had not vested in the inhabitants at large. "But as the authority of the commissioners exceeds not, except in a few particulars, that of parochial surveyors, the Society of Twelve, if called forth again into existence and exertion, would be of great benefit to the town. In summer, Brighthelmston too frequently becomes the chief receptacle of the vice and dissipation AUcrENT ctrsTOMs: 45 which the sickening metropolis disgorges into our watering places at this season. Its population then is upwards of ten thousand, and only one constable and two headboroughs to preserve the order and safety of the town amidst such a medley. Were there twelve more of the most active and intelligent inhabitants of the town, united with them in directing and strengthening its police, the careful parent would then have less reason to fear the gambler for his son, or the debauchee for his daughter. The constable of Brighthclmston had such a society to assist him when it was bull an obscure fishing town : the propriety of reviving the same, at this period of its popularity and splendour, I leave every thinking inhabitant of the place to consider and enforce." — Dunvan, 1795. Chapter VII. THE TEJSTA^TRY LANDS. Upon the general survey made throughout England, by order of King .Ufred, the tenantry land of Brighthclmston, was, like the estates in general, in other parishes of the kingdom, planned and plotted out ; and from time to time, down to the present date, the possessions of the different land-owners, have, from various changes in the proprietorship, been re-measured and set out ; and such a procedure is termed taking the terrier. Dooms-day'Book has it : Statutum de admensuratione terrarum. Dooms-day Book is a book that was made by order of AViUiam the Conqueror, in which all the estates of the kingdom are registered. It consists of two volumes, which are deposited at Westminster, in the chapter-house ; wtere they may be consiilted on paying the fee of 6s. 8d. for a search, and 4d per line for a ti-anscript. It was begun in 1081, and not completed till 1087. There is a copy of it in the library of the dean and chapter of Exeter. One leaf of it was discovered some years since at Nettlecombc, in Somersetshire, a seat of Sir John Trevelyan, Ba:t., who sent it to the dean and chapter. There is a story extant in connexion with finding this leaf. In a room at Nettlecombc, 46 HISTOEY OP BRIGHTHEIMSXON. which was used as a depository for lumber, and furniture and goods not in general use, a square of glass in the window always remained broken ; and notwithstanding, from time to time, the window was repaired, the next morning, not only was the glass found to be demolished, but, invariably, three drops of blood stained the sash. It happened on one occasion when the deeds of the estate had to be referred to by the solicitor of the family, Mr. Leigh, that the re- markable incident of the window was mentioned to him ; as the family parchments and papers were actually deposited in a strong chest in that very room. Being a person of a superstitious tiu'n of mind, and of antiquarian research, he conceived the idea that amongst the accumulation of musty deeds, there was one which would give the, solution to the strange mystery, A general over- hauling therefore, of the contents of the old oak chest was made ; but nothing of any moment was discovered, save a dingy leaf of some book^ which seemed to have no connection whatever with the rest of the papers. This proved to be the long lost and frequently sought for leaf of the Exeter Dooms-day Book. The story continues, that the square of glass was that day repaired ; and the next morning not only was it found to be broken, with the three drops of blood sprinkled on the sash, but upon the lid of the old oak chest, having filled its mission, lay dead a pure white dove. Ever after the restored window remained uninjured. On the 3rd day of March, 1738, was made : — " A General Terrier of the several Lands lyeing and being in the Common Laiues of Brighthelmston, in the County of Sussex, shewing each person's quantity in Pauls, Eight of which make an Acre ; made and agreed unto by several owners and occupiers." The several Laines are : West Laine, Little Laine, East Laine, Hilly Laine, and JS'orth Laine There are besides, portions called "White Hawk, and Church Hill. The Laines are set out in measured areas, termed furlongs''^, which furlongs are subdivided into irregular portions called paul-pieces, " eight of which make an acre," the tenantry acres varj-ing considerably as to the number of rods they contain, ranging from 35 to 210 rods. Some of these * Furlong, or Fortyloug, from the French quarante, forty, a measure of forty perches. THE TENANTET LANDS. 47 have other paula running into them ; and in such instances, from the shape they thus assume, they arc termed " hatchet pieces ;" while the extreme paiils of the furlongs in the Laincs, are c:illed "headlands." The Terrier at present used in defining property in the pai-ish, is the " Terrier to the tenantry land in the parish of Brighthelm- ston, as it was measured and set out in the year MDCCXCII, by Thonias Budgen." Copies of the Terriers, in a book form, are in the hands of several of the solicitors and surveyors in the town, and the proprietors of the tenantry lands. The most concise plan is a map of the whole parish, with elaborate references. For the convenience of cultivation, a Terrier was taken, agreeable to a resolution passed by the principal landholders, at a meeting which was held at the Old Ship, on the 26th day of March, 1776, that by draAving lots the owners of several pauls in different parts af a furlong, might have- their lands together in one piece in each furlong. The arrangement did not in the least alter the proprietor- ship of the several pauls. The following is the whole content of the Parish, as taken by Mr John Marchant, surveyor, May 12th, 1832 : — WEST LAINE. PAULS. A. K. P. A. E. P. North Butts 76 7 3 12 Hedge Furlonf^ 146 14 3 10 The Blacklauds 96 11 2 23 Furlong, near "West Fields* 300 29 112 Cliff Butte 101 6 Furlong, heading ditto 80 6 118 Second Furlong from Home 52 3 3 19 Home Fnrlong 112 8 1 6 Wall Furlong 68 2 1 20 Furlong heading the Barns 52 3 118 Chalk-pit Furlong 52 3 3 32 Furlong next Chalk-pit 56 4 111 102 21 CHURCH HILL. Church Hill 62 47 2 32 West side of ditto 216 42 16 Lead's Furlong 72 7 13 96 3 21 <• Part of this farlong was lost by the sea. 48 HISTOEY OF BETOHTHELMSTON. LITTLE LAINE. Upper Furlong 292 CM Furlong 278 EAST LAIXE. Cliff Furlong . Ui Furlong next Newbroko Ground 202 Second Furlong 116 Third Furlong 163 Fourth Furlong 72 Fifth Fm-long 102 Sixth Furlong 108 Baker's Bottom Fuiiong 253 Coombe Fuiiong 240 WHITE HAWK. South side of the White Hawk* West side dot East side do j Nortb-east side do HILLY LAINE. Islingword Furlong 200 Shepherd's Acre Furlong 112 Fifth Furlong 298 Fourth Fuiiong 193 Third Furlong 366 Second Furlong 320 Gold's Butts Home Furlong 247 Breach Furlong 266 NORTH LAINE. Home Fuiiong , 247 Church Furlong - 62 Second Furlong 216 ThirdFurlong ^62 ( Sliepherd's Acre ) \ Fourth Furlong 2o4 Fifth Furlong 220 Crooked Furlong 97 Eottingdcan Hedge Furlong , 100 Home Butts ■. 32 North Butts 52 The Crook 24 2 23 13 1 4 37 3 27 26 20 14 1 20 11 16 15 2 10 5 2 34 7 31 8 3 30 21 13 17 2 9 127 2 23 22 1 31 23 19 24 25 14 1 13 84 11 26 1 34 11 18 25 1 14 14 2 2 29 3 21 22 3 26 1 12 26 1 12 20 1 2 177 3 21 16 3 25 6 1 36 14 I 15 17 2 30 3 20 17 3 35 20 2 1 8 2 24 8 2 23 3 1 6 6 3 6 2 35 128 3 20 » Set off in February 1765 : 22a. Ir, 27p. + Set oif in Fobruarj' 1773 : 24a. 3r. IGp. t Set off in February 1773 : 24a. 3r. 20p. THE TENANTRY LANDS. 49 A. R. P. A.. R. P. The North side of Round Hill 34 3 16 South part of ditto 22 3 32 Scabb's Castle 82 137 Teuantry Sheep Down 400 36 Field in Level 14 1 23 Black Rock Arable 20 2 Black Rock Do\vn 112 2 16 The Town of Brighthelmston, including the Steine, 118 2 28 I North Inclosures, Level, &c 806 2 28 Contents of the whole Parish 1562 12 "Within the Laines were portions of ground termed " yardlands," but where situated has not been fully defined. The chief record of them is respecting the STOCK OF SHEEP. 68 Tardlands, at 16 sheep per yard 1038 The Reeve „ „ 20 The Dooling Leases „ 16 The Shepherd to keep none Widow Barnard ,, none 1124 In the " Nonarum Inquisitiones " is the following descriptive valuation of Brighthelmston : — " This indenture testifies that an acquisition was taken before Henry Husse and fellows, collectors, and assessors of the ixth of garbel fleeces and lambs, and of the x\th granted to our lord the king, in the county of Sussex, assigned at Lewes, on a Sunday, in the middle of the xUh year of the reign of King Edward the Third, from the nonal inquest, and the quindecimal concerning the true Talue of the ixth of garbel, (corn) ixth of fleeces, and ix 'h of lambs, by commission of our lord the king, directed to the aforesaid Heni-y and his fellows, by tlie oath of John de Erlee, Hugh Russell, John Dae', and Ralph Grabb, parishioners of Brighthelmston- -who say, that the extent of the church there is taxed at xxv pounds with the vicarage. And they say that the i\th part of garbel is worth this year, there, ix pounds, viii shillings, and x peuce from the community of the town. Also the ixth part of fleeces there is worth xxvi shillings and ri pence, and the ixth part of lambs there, is worth vi shillings and viii pence. Also they say, that the ixt/i part of garbel and fleeces of the prior of Lewes there, is worth, vii shillings and viii pence. Also the ixih part of garbel and fleeces of the prior of Michelham, is worth xxx shillings and iv pence. And 80 is the sum of the whole ixth of garbel, fleeces, and lambs, this year, xiii pounds. Also they say that the ix//( part aforesaid cannot answer nor attain to the taxation of the church aforesaid ; for that xl acres of land are drowned by the sea for over, which were worth per annum xl shillings. And also clx acres of land in the common plain, which have been deficient there this year in corn sown, to the 50 msTOEY 05* BEiGHnrELarsTO]* value of X pounds. And because the wool cannot be sold as it was wont, the value of iiii shillings and iv pence is deficient. And also the lambs there will be deficient in the pasture this year, by defect of value vi shillings and viii pence. And the vicar has there the first-prints of one dove-house, value ii shillings. And the same has there ia offerings, small tithes of geese, sucking pigs, honey, milk, cheese, calves, and eggs, and other small tithes which are worth yearly Ixx shillings. Also they say, that there are here no merchants, but tenants of land who live by their own lands, and their great labours only. In testimony of which thing, the aforesaid sworn men have affixed their seals to this indenture." Chapter VIII. THE BAETHOLOMEWS. The chauntry, or free chapel, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, was erected on a piece of land granted by the lord of the manor of Brighthelmston, to the Priory of St. Pancras, at Southover, Lewes, under a quit rent of 3d a-year. It was built to the south-west of the knappe or knab, originally called by the Saxon settlers, cw«^, (the summit or crown of a hill) from its elevated position. It is now generally known by the name of Brighton place. Attached to the chauntry was a dwelluig for the two or three monks who officiated there. The chauntry was destroyed by the fire which devastated the town, on the landing of the French, under Primauget, and it never after recovered its accustomed use and influence. The almshouses, which were afterwards built on the site, were sold to the parish in 1733, for the sum of £17, and the dwelling of the monks, called the Prior's Lodge, became the residence of the vicar of Brighthelmston, after the Eeformation. " Magna Britannia " mentions, " that there was a chiu'ch near the middle of the town, and it was burnt down some years ago by the French." This probablj' refers to the chapel or chauntry of St. Bartholomew. The Prior's Lodge was pulled down by the Ecv. Thomas Hudson, in 1790, the year he was collated to the rectoiy of Blatchington and Adcarage of Brighthelmston. From the style of the arcliitccture, and the decayed state of the timbers, there was ample room for supposing the building to have been erected not later than the close of the thirteenth century. In 1665 the Bar- THE BAETHOLOMEWS. 51 tholomews is mentioned as a parcel of pasture. The parish work- house, demolished in 1823, was erected on its site, and the rest of the space continued nearly plain ground till, in 1774, the market place was built, where the present Town Hall stands. The original market-place, that possessed by the town ujider the charter of Edward II., was on the cliff, where it had continued from the year 1313 till the close of the seventeenth, or the beginning of the last century ; when, that part being sapped by the waves, the building was demolished. The vicarage house, which was substituted for the Prior's Lodge, by the Rev. T. Hudson, was vacated by the present vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell "Wagner, in 1835, and pulled down in 1837. The old vicarage garden was about a quarter of an acre in extent. The first stone of the present vicarage was laid on the 24th day of June, 1834, and in the following year the structure was completed, and accepted by the Bishop of the Diocese, on the unanimous recommendation of six commissioners, namely, three laymen and three clergymen, to the effect that the exchange would be, in every respect, beneficial. It stands in a garden of exactly two measured acres; and was built by Messrs. George Cheesman and Son. In 1584, "William Midwinter, a sailor, sold the site of the chauntry to Thomas Friend and others, in trust for the said town, in consideration of the sum of £44, which had been raised by sub- scription among the inhabitants. It had been gnrited to Lord Cromwell, on the dissolution of the Priory of Lewts ; and on his attainder and execution, to Anne of Cleves. It reverted to the Crown in 1557, after the death of that Princess, and afterwards came into the possession of Roger Blackbourne, a farmer of York- shire. In 1577 he aliened it to MlIo Taylor, servant to Lord Buckhurst, and John Codwell, both of Southover, Lewes. Taylor soon after released his share to Codwell, who ^sold the whole to Midwinter. In 1773, an Act of Parliament was obtained for erecting and holding a daily market, Sundays excepted ; and the waste land of the Bartholomews being a central situation, and the common pro- perty of the town, it was fixed on for the site of the said market. E a 52 mSTOET OF BEIGHTHEIMSTON. The workmen, who were employed in digging for the foundation of this building, happened to cut through a little cemetery, which seems to have belonged to the chauntry of St. Bartholomew, and were so strongly impressed with superstitious awe, by the bones which they uncovered, that they refused to proceed with their work. The vicar, the Eev. Henry Michell, being informed of their scruples, came to the spot, and instead of exerting his personal in- fluence, which was very great over all classes of his parishioners, or vainly combating the prejudices of ignorance with reason, applauded their veneration for the supposed remains of Christians, but assured them that all who had ever been interred there were rank Papists. Their first prejudice being thus laid by a stronger, the men resumed their work, and turned over the rest of the bones with the apathy of grave-diggers. About fifty years since, in one of the old tumble-down houses which occupied the site whereon now stand the Schools of Mr. Henry Catt, by the " Knab Pump," resided Thomas Herbert, a short, stout, fat, and greasy old fellow, possessing but one eye, who pro- fessed to make the best sausages out of Germany. He was a maker of small meat pies and sausages j and with these he exhibited his "Publications for Sale." He was the author of the play, "Too much the Way of the "World," and likewise of " A Brief Sketch of Human Life ;" which, with his other literary works, lay cheek by jowl with his comestibles. He had been a butcher ; and the follow- ing specimen of his literary talent, written in a bold hand, in his window, expressed the cause of the change in his occupation ; as he stated he was one " TVho, for want of cash, the shamhles spurn' d. And is for once a play--\vright turu'd." Craptee IX. THE WORKHOUSE. From the deepest research which the compiler of this work has been able to make, he cannot find that any Workhouse existed in THE WOKKHOrSK. 53 Brighton prior to 1727, in which year the folloAving entries appear in the Town book : — February 26tli, 1727, — That a mortgage be effected on the work- house, to indemnify Thomas Simmons, in paj ing the moneys he made of the materialls of Blockhouse, to the constable and churchwardens ; by them to be disbursed in payment of materialls and the workmen employed about building the workhouse. May 10th, — Order in Vestry for Churchwardens and Overseers, — with all speed to borrow £oO, to pay for materials and workmanship about tlie Workhouse, in the building of it, to be repaid out of the poor rate, or taxes to be raised in the parish, on or before the 10th of May, 1728. At a public vestry meeting, held at the Old Ship, October 18th, 1727, it is agreed that the Churchwardens aud Overseers shall take up with all convenient speed, and borrow one hundred pounds, upou intei'cst at 5 per centum per annum, towards building the new workhouse. Amongst the minutes of the public vestry, 13th Xovembcr, 1727, there is the entry of a contract being entered into, between the parish and Thomas Fletcher and Thomas Tuppen, for digging and steining the well to the new workhouse, complete, with fittings, for ten guineas. The "Workliousc at this period was evidently of veiy limited extent. But in 1733 a portion of the Almshouses in connexion with the chauntry of St. Bartholomew was added to the build- ing. The spot is now occupied by the east eud of the Brighton Market. A tenement for the poor p^e^iously existed in East street ; and in 1690, in consequence of the great increase of the poor-rates, on account of the inroads of the sea, and the injury experienced by the to^Ta from the civil and foreign wars of that and the preceding century, by order of the Justices at the quarter Sessions, at Lewes, the following parishes, that had no poor of their own, were called upon to make the following contributions : — f. s. d. Patcham, the yearly sum of 17 16 7 Hangleton 4 16 9 East .Vldrington 6 1 li Blachington 4 2 6 Onngdean 6 10^ £38 17 10* * Anno 18, Elizabetha;, cap. 3. sec. 3.— And be it also enacted, That if the said Justices of Teace do perceive, that the Inhabitants of any Parish are not able to levy among themselves sufficient Sums of Money for the Purposes 54 HISTOBT OF BEIGHTHELMSTOir. Pormerly the recipients of parish relief were compelled to wear an insignia of their pauperism ; as in a vestry minute appears the following :- — At a monthly meeting of the Churchwardens and Overseers, held 27th August, 1698, an accompt was given that Susan Stone, the widdow of Thomas, refused to ware the Town badge, (vizi-) the letters, (B : P :) upon which she was putt out of the weekly pay. The present Workhouse, on Church Hill, was commenced in 1820, Mr. William Mackie, Architect, Charlotte street, Blackfriars' road, London, furnishing the design, which was selected from forty others by the Directors and Guardians, who had advertised a premium for the best design ; as it was then considered it combined a proper degree of elegance with economy, and was replete with more convenience than any other institution for the same purpose in the kingdom. Great alterations and additions have been made to the original building, according to the fancy or caprice of the boards of Guardians for the time being. Mr. John Cheesman was the builder. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone was not of the imposing character which is assumed on commencing similar public buildings in modern times. The stone was merely one that had been dug up while getting out the ground for the foundation of the house", and was of the rudest shape, about two feet in length, eighteen inches in width, and ten inches in depth.. It was laid by the Vicar, the Hev. Dr. Carr, afterwards Bishop of Chichester, and subsequently of Worcester. Brighton, at that time, had a population of 24,000, and there were about 4,000 inhabited houses. Fields surrounded the Work- house grounds ; that to the south, the detached grave-yard of the Old Church, being used for occasional festivities, and for the practice of the Eoyal Artillery. The first building erected near the House was a soap manufactory, by a Mr. Heard. The premises are now the residence and establishment of Dr. Foreman. On the failure of the soap works, which were to astonish the good people of aforesaid ; that then the said Two Justices shall and may tax, rate, and assess, as aforesaid, nny other of other Parishes, or out of any Parish within the Hundred where the said Parish is, to pay such Sum and Sums of Money to the Church- wardens and Overseers of the said poor Parish for the said purposes, as the said Justices shall think fit, according to the Intention of this Law. THE WOEKnOTJSE. 55 Brighton, Mr. Aircy converted the huilding into school premises, and for a few years had a good school there, — the Chnrch hiU Grammar School. The Rev. Dr. Butler succeeded him, and then, for a short time, the Rev. Mr. Pugh carried on the establishment. Mr. Thorncroft was the first person who took up his abode in the new Workhouse, which had a tablet over the main entrance, thus inscribed : Brighthelmston Poor-House, Erected A.D., 1821. Vicar, Rev. R. J. Carr, D.D. r Edward Blaker. Churchwardens / Robert Ackcrson. ( Richard Bodle. At the old "Workhouse, or rather Poor-house as it was called, the average number of inmates was 150, and the only labour consisted in collecting and crushing oyster- shells in a large iron mortar. This work was done by the able-bodied out-door poor, in the winter months, at a fixed price per bushel. The material thus produced was sold for manuring land, and for constructing paths in parks, lawns, &c. The Governor at that time, Avas Mr. Ilayward, he having succeeded Mr. Bailey, and the inmates were farmed to Mr. Eiee, at a contract price for their board, of about 4s a-Aveek per head. Previous to Mr. Bailcj', Mr. Sicklemore was the Governor, he hav- ing succeeded Mr. William Pcarce, who was appointed March 25th, 1779. Mr. Samuel Thorncroft, the present Assistant-Overseer, was Mr. Rice's assistant, and helped Mr. Chassereau, the then Assistant- Overseer, in preparing the present Workhouse for the reception of the poor, who were very reluctant to leave the old house, to be transported out of the world, as they termed the removal to the new house on Church hUl, which certainly then had as desolate an appearance as the " howling wilderness," the name noAV given to the Industrial Schools at the Warren Farm, by the opponents of that juvenile establishment. The Assistant - Overseer, previous to Mr. Chassereau, was Mr. White, Avho succeeded Mr. Jonathan Grcnvillc. At this period the principal officers in connexion with the poor of the parish, were an Assistant-Overseer, at a salary of £200, and a Vestry Clerk, at a salary of £100 a-year. Mr. Thomas Attree, of the present firm, Messrs. Attree, Clarke, and Hewlett, 56 HISTOET OF BRIGHTHELMSTON. solicitors, Ship street, was the Clerk, and used to make out the poor- rates, attend — usually by deputy — the meetings of the Directors and Guardians, record the meetings of the Board, and the Committees, and prepare reports. The r(feioval from the old to the new house took place on the 12th September, 1822, when 27 persons changed their I'esidence. On the 20th of the same month, nine others followed ; and on the 24th, sixty-four more were removed, making a total of ninety-five inmates. Mr. Baldey was the parish surgeon. The new governor — Hayward, — remained only a few days on the removal to the new house ; as, without the least intimation to any one, he abruptly took himself off. His successor, Mr. Nuttall, remained only four or five weeks, when he was summarily dismissed by the Guardians, on the 5th of November, 1822. Mr. S. Thorncroft was then appointed Governor, a situation which he continued to fill with great honour to himself and satisfaction to the town, till April, 1834, although he did not leave the house till April, 1835. Mr. John Harper was Mr. Chassereau's successor. Mr. Thorncroft was appointed Assistant- Overseer — a position which he still so ably holds — in October, 1834. Mr. CoUington, at the close of 1834, succeeded Mr. Thorncroft as Governor ; and he held the office till the middle of the summer of 1836, when Mr. Bartlett entered on the duties of Governor, he having been previously the superintendent of pauper-labour, at a salary of £160 a-year. At the old house Mrs. Idle was a species of matron ; but when the inmates went "up the hill," Mrs. Harriet Dennett held that appointment, and continued it till 1827, when she was succeeded by Mrs. Alice Pickstock. Mrs. Pickstock, — the mother of Mrs. S. Thorncroft, — died in 1843. As a memento of respect, her tomb, erected by subscription in the Cemetery Ground of the Old Church, expresses the appreciation of her valuable services. On her death, Mrs. Bartlett, the wife of the Governor, was appointed Matron. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett resigned in June, 1848, and were succeeded by Mr. and Mrs. Cuzens. About the middle of the year 1849, Cuzens absented himself from his duties, and they were in consequence both discharged in September. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges were appointed to the vacancies, and they held their respective offices till September THE -WOEKHOITSE. 57 of the following year. Mr. and Mrs. C. J. King succeeded them, and in October, 1854, on theii- resignation, Mr. and Mrs. Passmore entered upon their duties. On the 7th of June, 1859, Mr. Passmore absconded ; the dismissal of himself and wife ensued in consequence, and on the 15th of July, Mr. and Mrs. Sattin were appointed to fill the vacancies. The poor-rate collectors hitherto have been Mr. Edward Butler, Mr. Harry (Captain) Blaber, Mr. W. H. Smithers, and Mr. Frank Butler. The parish assessors have been Mr. Saujiders, Mr. Eobert Ackcrson, Mr. Eichard Bodle, Mr. Henry Styles Colbron, Mr. Richard Edwards, and Mr. George Maynard. The original cost for building the Brighton "Workhouse was £10,000, and the land was purchased for £1,400, and paid by a rate expressly raised for that service. In the year 1853, the then Board of Directors determined upon disposing of the present Work- house and grounds, and the erection of a "Workhouse and Industrial Schools, and they purchased ground on the Race Hill, as the site for the former, and the "Warren Parm, beyond the Race Hill, for the latter. The Schools are completed, and will be ready for occupation when a sufficient supply of water is obtained from the notorious "Warren Farm "Well. There have been occasions when the Guardians, in the pleni- tude of their duties towards the poor, and also to the ratepayers, have made their Board meetings the opportunity for feasting and guzzling. The most memorable time was in the summer of 1837, when they pampered their appetites with john-dorees, salmon, lobsters, Norfolk squab pie, poultry, and joints in profusion; red and white wines by the dozen, and spirits by the gallon ; cigars by the box, and snuff by the pound ; with a handsome snuff-box, too ; and, the usual services of the House being too mean for them, sets of dish-covers were ordered, and dishes, dinner and pie plates, jugs, sauce tureens, cut decanters and stands, rummers, knives and forks, waiters, and a teaboai'd. Blacking too, was ordered, and one Guardian, Mr. Paul Hewitt, actually sent his boots to the "Workhouse to be cleaned, and when done they were returned to his house again. Another Guardian, Mr. Storrer, also sent his dog to the "Workhouse to be kept, as it was inconvenient to have it at home. The Guardians 58 HISTOET or BBIGHTHEIMSTOIT. had also a summer house, wherein they smoked their cigars and quaffed their grog. This was at the period when out-door paupers had to slave up the Church hill for relief. The removal of the Board-room to Church street, the Pavilion property, has been a great convenience to the poor, and it has been the means of preventing even a hint that the present Board feast at the parish expense. Immediately in connexion with the Workhouse, the two following extracts from the parish books, will not be found out of place : — " Goppy of the Order for the Removal of Stephen Agnus. " " SUSSEX. "To the Churchwardens and Overseers of the POOR of ye Pish, of Brighthelmstonc, in ye sd. County, & to the Chui'chwardens and Overseers of the POOR of the Pish, of Sittingbourne, in ye County of Kent, & to every of them. "Hen. Pelham " Forasmuch as Complaint hath been made to us, whose hands & Scales are hereto sett, being two of his Majtes. " Geo. Goreing Justices of the Peace for the sd. County (one of which is of ye Quorum) by the Churchwardens and Overseers of the poor of the sd. Pish, of Brighthelmstone that Stephen Agnus came Lately into ye said pish, not having nor renting Ten pound p. annum, nor otherwise gained a legal settlement there according to ye severall statutes in that case made and provided, but is likely to become chargeable to the said parish of Brighthelmstone. "These are, therefore, in his Majts. name, to will and require you, the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of ye sd. pish, of Brighthelmstone or some of you, to convey the said Stephen Agnus from the said pish, of Bright- helmstone To the said Pish of Sittingbourn, in Kent, where, upon the examin- ation of the said Stephen Agnus upon oath, it appears that the said Stephen Agnus was last legally settled as an householder. And you, the Churchwardens and Overseers of the poor of the said pish of Sittingbourne, are hereby required and commanded him to receive and provid for, as an Inhabitant of yr sd pish, hereof, fail not at yr pcrril. Given under our hands and seals this 27th day of January, in tiie 13th year of his Majst's reign, Anno Domi. 1701. " Certificate acknowledging a Parishioner. " Wee, Andrew Godwin, John Tappendeu, "William Ffiillager, and "William Dcane, Churcliwardens and Overseers of the Poore of tlie Parish of Sittingbourne, in the County of Kent, doo liereby owno and acknowledge Stephen Agnus, of the same Parish, to be an inhabitant, legally settled there. "Witness our hands and scales this one and thirtieth day of January, Anno Dni. 1701. " Attested by us " Andrew Godwin, * ".W. n. IlAt-ssETT, " John Tappenden, * "Jo. Hawkes, " "Will. Ffullager, * " "William Deane. * THE wORZHorsE. 59 " To the Churchwardens ^- Overseers of ye poore of ye parish of Briyhthelmstone, in ye County of Sussex, or to any of them." "Wee, whose bands aro hereunder written, Justices of yc Peace of the County of Kent, aforesd., doo allowe of the Certificate above written, dated yc 2nd day of February, Anno Dni. 1701. "TUO. OsiiOENE, "Waltu. IIoopEa." " Bastardy Bond, given by a Security, that the putative father shall indemnify the Parish against any expence that may be incurred in the birth of a Child. Stamp " Know all Men by these presents, that I, Buckrcll Bridger, One ShUling and of the Parish of Brighthelmstone, in the County of Sussex, Sixpawe. mariner, am held and lirmly bound unto Stephen Richwood, and Stephen Poune, Churchwardens, and llobert Davis and Edward Stiles, Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Brighthelnistone, aforesaid, in trust for themselves and others, the parishioners of the said Parish, in Fifty Pounds of good and LawfuU money of Great Britain, to be paid to the said Churchwardens and Overseers, or their certain Attorney, Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, for which payment well and faithfully to be made, I bind my Heirs, Executors, and Administrators, and every of them, firndy by these presents, sealed with my Seal, dated this sixth day of May, in the Ninth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Biitain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand, Seven hundred, and Sixty-nine. "The Condition of this obligation is such, that, whereas Mary Hill, of the Parish of Brighthelmstone, aforesaid, snigle-woman, hath, in and by her voluntary examination, taken in writing and upon oath before John Fuller, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the said County, declared that she is with child, and that the said child is likely to be born a bastard, and to be chargeable to the said Parish of Brighthelmstone, and that Buckrell Bridger, the younger, of Brighthelmstone, aforesaid, mariner, is the father of the said child. If, therefore, the above boundcn Buckrell, the elder, or the above named Buckrell Bridger, tlie yoimgcr, or either of them, then, or cither of their Heirs, Executors, or Administrators, do or sliall, from time to time, or at all times hereafter, fully and clearly indemnify, and save harmless as well, the above named Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish of Brighthelmstone, and (heir successors for the time being, and also all other the Parishioners and Inliabitants of the said Parish whicli now are, or hereafter shall be for the time being, from and against all kind and all manner of Costs, Taxes, Bates, Assessments, and charges whatsoever, for or by reason of the birth, education, and maintenance of the said child, and of and from all Actions, Suits, Troubles, and other charges and demands whatsoever, touching or 60 HISTORY OP BEIGniHELHSTON. concerning the same, then this obligation to be void, or otherwise to be and remain iu full force. "BUCKRELL BkIDGER. * " The mark of Btjckrell Bridger X the elder. * " Sealed and delivered, being first stamped in. the presence of us, the interlineations being fii-st made. " Geo. Abington, " Thos. Scrase." But a quarter of a century since it was customary to employ the out-door paupers in scavenging, cleansing, and watering the streets, the poor creatures being harnessed, by means of ropes, to the muck-trucks and barrel-constructed water-carts, after the manner that convicts are put to labour in the Government penal establishments and the navy dockyards. The parish officers eventually got shamed out of the system of thus employing those whose only crime was poverty ; and for awhile they sub- stituted the health-destroying and heart-breaking plan of wheeling shingle and sand from the beach to the Workhouse-ground in barrows, till one unhappy creature sunk beneath his burthen and died of "disease of the heart!" The custom then was abandoned. The course now pursued towards the indigent is thoroughly to investigate their several cases, and relieve them according to their necessities and deserts : and where laziness and not misfortune is the cause of their peniuy, to give them an " Able Bodied "Ward " ticket of admission to the "Workhouse, which not one indolent person in fifty avails himself or herself of, but rather leaves the Board of Guardians, dissatisfied, and eventually resolves upon an attempt at industry, which results in a benefit to themselves and the ratepayers. The system has succeeded beyond all expectations ; and many a man who considered the " house " his birthright, because his father and his grandfather from time immemorial wintered there, has taken to provident and industrious habits, and learned the sweet uses of adversity. THE ATTACK OX THE TOWN BY THE FRENCH. 61 Chaptee X. THE ATTACK ON BRIGHTHELMSTOX BY THE FRENCH, IN 1545. Henry the Eighth having ravaged Artois and Picardy, by the superiority of his forces, and made himself master of Boulogne, the French king to retaliate the wanton desolations, sent Admiral D'Annehault with a considerable fleet to devastate the country on the southern coast of the island. The invasion is thus described by Holinshead : — *' In 37 Hen. 8th, 1545, July the 18th, the admiral of France, Mens. Donebatte, hoisted up sails, and ^vith his whole navy (which consisted of 200 ships and 26 gallies,) came forth into the seas, and arrived on the coast of Sussex, before Bright Hampstead, and set certain of his soldiers on land to bum and spoil the country : but the beacons were fii-ed and the inhabitants thereabouts came down so thick, that the Frenchmen were driven to their ships with loss of diverse of their numbers, so that they did little hurt there. Immediately hereupon they made to the Isle of Wight, when about two thousand of their men landed, and one of their chief captains, named Chevalier Daux, a Proven^ois, being slain with many others, the residue, with loss and shame, were driven back again to their gallies. And having knowledge by certain fisher- men whom they took, that the king was present on the coast, (Portsmouth) and a huge power ready to resist them, they dis- anctioned (disanchored) and drew along the coast of Sussex, of whom few returned to their ships ; for divers gentlemen of the country, as Sir Nicholas Pelham and others, with such power as was raised upon the sudden, took them up by the way and quickly distressed them. When they had searched everywhere by the coast, and saw men still ready to receive them with battle, they turned stcra, and so got them home again without any act achieved worthy to be mentioned. The number of the Frenchmen was great, so that diverse of them who were taken prisoners in the Isle of Wight and in Sussex, did report they were three score thousand." A curious Picture Map of this attack is engraved in the 24th 62 HISTOEY OF BEIGHTFELMSTOir. vol. of the " Arcliseologia " of 1832, from the original in the Cot- tonian Library. A copy of this map is in the possession of the compiler of this history. It bears date, " 1545, July, 37 Henry VIII," The number of ships attacking the town is twenty-two; and the largest, probably the Admiral's, lying nearest the shore, has four masts ; seven have three masts, three two masts, and eleven are galleys with one mast and numerous oars. Eight of the latter are on shore, and the armed men from them have disembarked on the beach, the place where they landed being inscribed, — "here landed the galleys." On the shore also, high and dry, are six large boats of the inhabitants, and several smaller ones. On the beach, like- wise, at Hove, are five small boats. On the sea, towards the west side, is inscribed, — " Shippes may ride all somer tern in a myle the town in V fathome water ; " and on the east, — " Thesse grete shippes rydeng hard abode shore by shoting into the hille and wallies on the towne, so sore oppresse the towne that the countrey dare not adventure to rescue it." The ships are pierced for guns, and the prows and sterns are raised three or four stages. Numerous pennons and streamers adorn each ship, some bearing a Jleur-de-lys, and others a cross. On shore the houses under the cliffe are on fire ; from the upper town also flames are issuing from almost every house. There are five rows of houses running from north to south; and at the extreme north a row of houses runs from east to west A square space in the centre is marked, — " A felde in the middle of the town." A road to the east of the town, about the spot now occupied by the Old Steine, and going in the north-east direction is inscribed, — " the valcy comyng from Lewes town to Brighthamp- ston." On this road and on the hill adjacent bodies of armed men are marching towards the town. On the cliffe, eastward of this road, is an erection from which is suspended a frame containing some burning substance, and is inscribed, — "the towne fyre cage." This is at about the spot where the oflices and auction room of Messrs. Parsons and Son now are. From thence, eastward, is inscribed, — " The East pte of brighthampston riseug onelye on cloves high." jSTorth of the town is the church, about which persons, some armed, appear in the attitude of prayer. Beyond the church are two mUls, marked, — the " wynde myllesj" and still FOETIFICATIONS OF THE TOVnU. 63 farther a blazing construction on a pole, marked, — " the bekon of the towne." A road from this spot is continued to the sea, about midway between the chm'ch and Hove Church, marked, — " hoove Churche." This road, along which armed men are coming towards the town, is inscribed, — "the valey comyng fi-om pouynge (Poynings) betwixt brighthampston and the vilagc, hove." As this road approaches the beach it is inscribed, — "Upon this west pt may lond cm psones (100,000 persons) unletted by any pvision there." At the back of the town is inscribed, — " The towne of brighthampston," and immediately to the east of the town is a body of armed men. Hove, — two rows of houses, — is marked, "hove village," and the road running westward from thence, " the west parte of brithampston lowe all daungerous and wout cleves (without cliffs.)" The next attempt of the French was on Newhaven, where they landed to a considerable number, and proceeded to pillage the town and environs ; but the gentry and yeomen of the coast having been collected on the neighbouring hills to oppose the expected descent, attacked the invaders so vigorously that many were slain in attempting to recover their galleys. Chapter XI. FORTIFICATIONS OF THE TOWN. In consequence of the frequent incursions of the French, and the inhabitants being harrassed by frequent alarm, the toAvn resolved, in 1558, to erect fortifications, to afford them some protection for the future. A Court Baron of the manor of Bright- hclmston-Lewcs was therefore held on the 29th of September in that year, of which the following entry appears in the Com-t Eolls : I Eliz. At a Court Barou, holdeu for this manor, 27th September, there was fj^rautcd to the inhabitants of Brifrhton town by the lords, one parcel of land, con- taining in length 30 feet, in breadth 16 feet, to build thereon a store-house to keep armes, &c., now called the Block-house. Also at the Court holden for Atlingworth manor, 3 Jac (1606) January 9th, the homage presented that tho 64 HISTOEY OB BHIGHTHELMSTON, north part of the Block-house aforesaid is built on part of the demesnes of that manor. The land granted was on the Cliff between Black -lion street and Ship street, and about 215 yards westward of East street. The Block-house was circular, about fifty feet in diameter, and the walls were about eight feet in thickness, and eighteen feet in height. Several arched apartments in its thick walls were depositories for the powder and other ammunition for the defence of the town. In front of it, towards the sea, was a little battery called the Grun Garden, on which were mounted four pieces of large iron ordnance. Adjoining the Block-house, on the east, stood the Town-house, with a dungeon under it for malefactors; and on the summit of this building rose a turret, on which the town clock was fijsed At the same time with the Block-house, were erected four gates of freestone, (three of which were arched) leading from the Cliff to that part of the town which lay under it, namely, the East Gate at the bottom of East street ; the Portal, which was called the Porter's Gate, and was less than any of the others ; it stood next the East Gate ; the Middle Gate, opposite the end of Middle street, commonly called the Gate of All Nations ; and the "West Gate, which stood at the end of West street. From the East Gate, westward, there was, at the same time, a wall built about fifteen feet high, and four hundred feet long, where the Cliff was most easy of ascent : and from the termination of that wall, a parapet three feet high, was continued on the verge of the Cliff to the West Gate, with embrasures for cannon. The Block-house was built at the expense of the mariners of the town ; but the gates and walls were erected partly if not wholly by the government. The south of the town was thus eifectually secured. For the security, then, of the other three sides, on any emergency, trenches might be cut at the end of the streets which led into the town, or the entrances might be barred to the enemy by lumber carriages and household furniture, while the inhabitants annoyed them from every quarter. The " Magna Britannia," in addition, says, " The town contains seven streets, and as many lanes, but the most spacious of them is devoured by the Ocean," alluding to South street, under the cliff, which it is supposed formed the sea front of the town. FORTIFICATIONS OP THB TOWN. 65 The town book, under the date 1580, has the following inven- tory of the ' ' great ordnance, and other munition and furniture in Brighthelmston," viz., four iron pieces delivered out of the tower, on the bond of John Skitter, together with powder and shot delivered with the same, two pieces of great ordnance, and ten "qualivers with their flasks and touch boxes," and a drum belong- ing to the town. The town also at that time possessed one windmill, purchased of Queen Elizabeth, and the site of another mill then in ruins; "the town-house, situate to the east side of the block-house," granted by a copy of court roll by the lords of the Manor of Bright- helmston, and the said block-house, "of flint, Hme, and sand, of late years erected, and built in warlike manner, by the fishermen, with the profits of their quarter share." * There is no record as to the date when the fortifications in general were destroyed ; but it is generally supposed the gradual inroads of the sea sapped them and caused them to fall. Certainly they were not demolished by any foreign invader, as after 1545 the town was never attacked. In 1586, when the whole kingdom was alarmed with rumours of the Spanish Armada, a fleet of about fifty sail were discovered off the town, apparently waiting for a favourable opportunity to land. The terrified inhabitants, concluding it Avas the great Spanish force, fired the beacons and sent off for Lord Buckhurst, who was lord of one of the manors of the town. His Lordship attended with as many armed men as he could muster on so : udden an emergency, and took post on the brow of the cliff between Brighthelmston and Kottingdean, in order to oppose the landing of the supposed enemy at their place. In the course of the ensuing night, his force increased to the number of 1,600 men : and a considerable body of Kentishmen were on their march to join hiia. Next morning, the ships appeared in the same place ; but those on board showed no disposition to land. A few boats, belonging to the town, ventured out at last, a little way, to reconnoitre the fleet, and soon discovered, to their great joy, they were only Dutch merchant- * See quarter share in " Ancient Castoms." page 34. k 66 niSTOKY OP BBIQHTHELMSTON. men laden with Spanish \vines, and detained by contrary winds in the Channel. Towards the end of July, 1588, the town was more justly alarmed at the Spanish Armada ; and the inhabitants neglected no means in their power to defend themselves and their country from the threatened desolation by a powerful and inveterate enemy. They had then in the town, belonging to Government, six pieces of great iron ordnance, and ten qualivers, a species of small cannon. "With a determination of the most obstinate resistance, the shores of Sussex in general were lined with the people, when this tre- mendous armament passed in their view, pursued by the light and expert navy of England. In 1597, inconsequence of the continued war with Spain, and Brighton being exposed, by an order of Sessions, dated July 1 3th, and signed Eobert Sackville, Thomas Pelham, Nicholas Parker, Antho. Sherley, and Ran. NeviU, by command of Lord Buckhurst, Lord Lieutenant of the County, there were sent from Lewes to Brighthelmston, one saker and one minion, with their carriages, shot, horse-harness, budges, barrels, ladles, sponges, and all other necessary implements belonging to the same, with six barrels of gunpowder ; and such was the educational condition of the people at that period, that Thomas Jefferj'', the Constable of Brighthelmston, to whom the artillery and stores were delivered, could not write his name. In 1642, the four pieces of iron ordnance, sent to Bright- helmston in 1597, were returned to Lewes. In the same year, also a barrel of gunpowder was sent from the town house, Lewes, (where was the powder store,) to Brighthelmston. In the Court Rolls, according to the Burrell MSS., 1st April, 1645, there are the following records : — Homage present "Willm. Galku, juu., for not paying to Ed. Cook, lord's reeve, for his lady nets fishing, ac30iding to ye ancient castora, 4d, give him time to pay it to the said E.G., at or before St. Jn. Baptist next, on payn of 53. 25 Aug., 1648. "We present Nichs. Payne for building his new house and shop under the cliff's, upon the bank of the cliff, to the hurt and annoyance of the whole towne, if we shd have t^ny occasion to use the ordnance, or that there shd be any invasion by a foreign enemy. 25 Aug., 1654. We present Kics. Payne for encroaching on the lord's waste, and building of hi.s walls 14 feet, or thereabout, more than he is admitted to, to ye clitfe side, before ye place where ye great guns path doth stand, to the K)IlTirrCATI0N8 or THB TOWW. 67 great annoyance and hindrance of ye whole towne and country, and xvo fine him for it. In the year 1658, John Pullat, a Quaker, for speaking to the priest and people in the Steeple-house (the church), was put prisoner into the Block-house, which, at that time, was the plaoe of confine- ment for malefactors. In the course of the encroachments of the sea during severe storms in 1 703 and 1 705, the Blockhouse and Gun-garden, wall and gates, were gradually sapped, and at last so completely destroyed, that in the course of thirty years aftei-wards, scarcely any of their ruins were perceptible. The following is the record of these storms in the Brighton town-book : — Mcmorand. — Xovember 27tli, 1703, there was a very great aud remarkable tempest,* which begun after midnight, and continued in its violence till about 8 in the morning, being Saturday. Many houses in town were damnified, two wind-mills in tlie east blo\vn over, several of the church leads turned up, and several vessells belonging to the town were Shipwracked, to the great impoverish- ment of the place. Another storm, 11th of August, 1705, did equal damage. The Burrell MSS. record, Jan., 1748-9, that by reason of extraordinary high tides the sea broke in at Brighthelmston, washed away part of the Block-house, and the farm lands called Salts, and did considerable damage to the lands adjacent. On digging out the shingle for the pxirpose of laying in the foundation of the wall which forms the south boundary of the King's Road, the ruins of the Block-house wore disoevored in so compact and firm a state that much difficulty was experienced in excavating them and breaking them up. Less than ninety years since at low water, the Avell of the old town was visible off the Old Ship Tavern, its steined form standing somewhat high above the sand and shingle. Lord Macaiilay, in his history of England, spcakinjj' of the time of Charles II., says: — " Brighton was then described as a place which had once been thriving, which had possessed many small fishing barks, and which had, when at the height of j^rospcritv", contained about two thousand inhabitants ; but which was sinking fast into decay. The sea was gradually gaining on the buildings, * This was the storm which destroyed the Eddyston lighthous^c. 1 2 68 HISTOfiT OP BEIGHTBraLMSTOIT. whicli at length almost entirely disappeared. Mnety years ago the ruins of an old fort were to be seen lying among the pebbles and sea-weed on the beach, and ancient men could still point out the traces of foundations on a spot where a street of more than a hundred huts had been swallowed up by the waves. So desolate was the place after this calamity that the vicarage was thought scarcely worth having. A few poor fishermen, however, still continued to dry their nets on those cliffs, on which now a town, t^vice as large and populous as the Bristol of the Stuarts, presents, mile after mUe, its gay and fantastic front to the sea." The Rev. William Gilpin, prebendary of Salisbury, and vicar of Boldre, near Lymington, in "Observations on the Coasts of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent, made in the Summer of 1774," states: — " The cliff on which Brighthelmston stands, is composed of a mouldering clay ; and the sea has gained upon it, at least fifty yards in the memory of man. A fort which stood on the edge of the cliff, gave way in the year 1761, and was shattered into a ruin; but it is now taken entirely down." This, probably, refers to some portion of the old fortifications of the town, which stood to the east of the Block- house. About the year 1761, a battery, with an arched room under it for ammunition, was erected at the bottom of East (great) Street, not far from the site of the ancient East Gate. A letter dated Brighthelmston, August 12th, 1782, states : — "About seven o'clock yesterday morning, I was awaked by the firiag of guns, which made me rise sooner than I should otherwise have done, and upon going to the beach, was informed that a French privateer, of 1 6 or 18 guns, and about 130 men, had just taken a collier close to the shore. After having turned the collier's men in their own boat on shore, — they only wanting the vessel, — the Frenchmen put on board the collier from the privateer, ten stout fellows, and then saUed away with theii' prize. This being observed from the ramparts, signal was given to a cutter, which hai^pened luckily to be near, and it directly made sail after the collier, and in about an hour and a half retook her, and sent the Frenchmen on shore." The ram- parts alluded to were those of the East Street battery, which was wholly unprotected by any groyne, and was completely undermined FORTIFICATIONS OF THE TOWN. 69 by the sea on the 17th of November, 1786, and fell to the ground. There were at the time seventeen barrels of gunpowder in the magazine below ; but fortunately none of them took fire amidst the crash of the ruins. Dun van* states that this battery mounted 12 twenty-four pounders ; but on the platform as represented in a map of Brighton, 1779, eight guns only are placed. The eight guns were deposited on the Steine, and remained there for several weeks. The condition of these guns and the value of the battery will be better gleaned from the following memorandum, made Thursday, September 23rd, 1779: — "Some French privateers are said to be hovering about the oifing, and we hear now and then a report of firing. Provoking ! — They will not come ^vithin reach of the only four guns that may be fii'cd with safety —I mean, when properly loaded with powder and ball — a salute is nothing. The rest are all well known to be honey-combed. The small craft, then, may be cut off with impunity. "What a pity that a couple of light six-pounders cannot be spared by the Board of Ordnance, to protect the coast ! Those with men or horses, might be dragged along the Clift, and prevent every sort of mischief to be dreaded from such despicable picaroons; — instead whereof, two horse soldiers, in long scarlet cloaks, ride along the coast, making their utility to be understood by no one." The site of this battery is marked by the Old Battery House, opposite the Rising Sun, to which is attached the following legend of OLD STEIKE-A-LIGHT : " A tremendous gale had ceased, but stUl the mountainous swcUings of the sea burst violently on the shore, when the boat of Swan Jervoise came into the Brighton roadstead, having weathered the storm. The night was pitchy dark ; scarcely could the outline of the horizon be perceived, and not a light illumed the blank. The surprise of Jervoise and his crew was therefore great when they beheld a stream of meteor -like splendour burst from every window of the ' Rising Sun ' Inn, and as suddenly all was • Paul Dunvan, the author of " Lee's History of Lewes and Brighthelm- Btono," published in 1795, was for some time an usher in the Lewes Grammar School. 70 HISTOUT OF BKIGHTHELM8T0N. again involved in utter darkness. This terrific appearance was repeated many times. Swan Jervoise was one of those men who never conjeeture, but proceeded at once to ascertain a cause. He therefor©, ivith two of his men, went ashore ; but proceeded alone to the 'Eking Sun,' expecting to find the people up. After knock- ing and bawling loud enough to rouse all the dead in the Bartholo- mew's Chapel, without wakening the landlord, he was about to force the door, when the light again burst from the windows, and he distinctly heard a ticking as of a person striking a light with a flint and steel, each stroke producing this supernatural blaze of light. In a moment afterwards the door was opened, and a being seven feet high, wrapped in a large black cloak, with a high conical white hat, issued forth. He noticed not the poor drenched fisherman, but he strode on until ho disappeared in the darkness. Jervois's hair stood, stiif on his head ; his limbs trembled with fear ; and he shrieked aloud with terror. The landlord heard his cry, and came down with his torch. Seeing his neighbour in such a plight, he bade him come in, roused up a fire, made him take a scat in the capacious chimney, and — having comforted him with good words — placed a ruslilight on tlie table, and then retired to procin^ a jug of ale. Jervoise, scarcely recovered from his fright, was thus again left alone. As he sat musing by the crackling fire, the dim rush throwing a fitful light around the room, he chanced to turn his head ; when, from over the back of the settle, he beheld the death- like features — pallid as a sear cloth — of the tall man in the conical hat. His ooimtenance was most ghastly, and he fixed his grey- glazed eyes full on Jervoise, and pointed to the hearth. This was more than he could bear, — he uttered one loud scream, and fell senseless to the ground. Ho was thus found by the landlord, who conveyed him to bed ; and the next day Jervoise related the particular's to Father Anselm, of St. Bartholomew, and then expired. But the blessed Virgin and Saint Nicholas oft-times bring good out of evil ; for on examining the hearth to which ' Old Strike- a-Light' (a3 the apparition has since been called) pointed, a vast treasure was found, which is still safely deposited with the principal of this order in ISTormandy ; nor has the ' Rising Sun ' since been haunted by the unholy spirit of ' Old Strike-a-Light.' POETrPKUIIOXa OF THE TOWX. 71 The faithful may therefore know there is no truth in the story that ' Old Strike-a-Light ' has lately been seen seated astride a barrel of beer in the cellar chinking a piece of money on a pewter dish. Tho family vault of Jervoise, the oldest in the churchyard of Brightholmston, Anno Domini jicxni, may still bo seen on the south side of the church — ^near Tattersall's." Towards tho latter end of the year 1793, two new batteries were commenced for tho defence of tho town; one on the West Cliff, which mounted eight 36-pounders, and tho other on the East Cliff, which mounted four of the same weight. Tho guns of these batterios woro of French casting, ship guns, taken from tho French fleet captured by Lord Howe, in his memorable victory of tho 1st of June, 1791. The latter of these batteries was at the bottom of tho ATarino Parade, opposite the south-end of German Place ; but after being in position about ten years, — as tho explosions of the guns and the encroachments of the sea had made tho walls dangerous, — it was removed. The west battery was opposite Artillery Place. The Sea Fencibles, volunteers, during the war with France used to practice at this battery. They were accus- tomed, also, to exercise with boarding-pikes, in Belle-vue field, now Regency Square. Colonel Moore's volunteers went through their initiation drill, with faggot-sticks, on the ground behind the battery house, iVrtillory Placo. Colonel Moore resided on the Old Steino, in the mansion which was afterwards occupied by Lady Ann ^[un-ay, and then by Mr Harrington, (Squire Harrington, as he was usually spoken of,) now the residence of Captain Thellusson. This noble structure was erected by the Eight Honourable W. G. Hamilton, Esq., formerly M.P. for Haslemere. According to a manuscript diary in possession of the compiler of this history : "On tho 17th of August, 1805, soon after 12 o'clock, a shot was discharged from this battery by the Sea Fencibles, at a cask moored purposely in the offing, and it fell very close to the object : a second shot was also fired, of 42 pounds weight, merely to ascertain to what a distance the gun would throw it. From the time of the explosion until it struck the water, there was a lapse of 27 seconds ; the ball consequently, ere it was received by the liquid element, must have traversed to a distance of three miles. The 72 HI9T0H? OB BBIGHTHElMSTQBr. "weight of the cartridge used was 14 pounds." Also, June 13th, 1807 : " The Yolunteers this morning, for the fixst time this year, were practised at the Fort, in discharging the forty-two-pounders at a cask, moored, and floating on the water, at about three quarters of a league distant from the shore. Twelve rounds were fired; and though some of the balls immediately struck the object, they generally dropped so close to it, that a moderate sized fishing-boat would scarcely have escaped being injured by either of them. Many elegant spectators were on the Cliif during the exercise." The west battery was removed in 1859. A flagstaff within a railed space, marks its last site ; as, twice after its original construction, it was removed with the sanction of Government, to admit of widen- ing the King's Koad at that spot, to accommodate the increased traffic. The battery house and the other buildings in connexion with the Battery, were disposed of by auction by Mr. P. E-. "Wilkinson, on Monday, September 9th, 1861, and by the 28th of that month the space was entirely cleared for the erection of an hotel. Government having disposed of the ground to the Brighton Hotel Company. The remnant of the battery platform, marked by the flagstaff, belongs to the town, the Corporation having purchased it of Government to prevent any other purchaser placing buildings upon it. Brighton thus, wholly depends upon such means of defence as the emergency of the occasion may require to be brought into operation, by means of the railway, the facility of transit offering the full assurance that every materiel would be at hand for the ready service of our Volunteers, should an enemy have the temerity to invade our shores and put to the proof every English- man's motto, " Fro arts effocis." )m ijg I -■ 'T-JCIi^' Itftoi X^ iNcnmsioNs of the sea. 73 CnAPTEE XII. THE IIs'CUIlSIOXS OF THE SEA UPON THE T0W2T. Brighton has not had merely to defend itself against the aggressions of foreign invaders, but the encroachment of the sea at various times has checked its prosperity. Between 1260 and 1340, upwards of 40 acres of land had become submerged,* and the sea made continual inroads upon the lower town. Previous to 1665 twenty-two copyhold tenements under the Cliff, belonging to the manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes, alone were swept away. Amongst them were twelve shops, with four stake places and four capstan -places attached to them, and three cottages and three parcels of land adjoining them.f There still remained imder the Cliff, 113 tenements (shops, capstan and stake places, and cottages) which were destroyed by the memorable storms of 1703 and 1705. The storm of 1703 commenced about midnight on the 27th of November, and continued for eight hours with unabated fury. Many houses were demolished ; and others were unroofed : the church leads were torn off; and the two mills belonging to the town, were prostrated by the storm. The town presented the ruinous appearance of a place severely bombarded. Nor was that the only disaster looked for by the dismayed inhabitants, from so dreadful a conflict of the elements. The bulk of their property, and their dearest relatives, were at the same time exposed to its utmost "fury on the ocean, and the most dismal apprehensions for their fate were in many of them but too fully realised. Deryck Paine, master of the ketch, "Elizabeth," was lost -with all his crew. George Taylor, master of the ketch, " Happy Entrance," was lost with all his crew, except Walter Street, who supported himself on a mast for tliree days, between the Downs and North Yarmouth, and was taken up at last. Richard Webb, master of the ketch, " Richard and Rose," was lost with all his crew, near St. Helen's. Edward Freind, master of the ketch, " Thomas and * See foot-note, page 47. t Godwin's Renbil of Brighthelmston Manor, made in 1665, penes Carolum OUbtrt de Lewes Annis. 74 HI8T0E7 OF ttRTGHTITEliMSTOJt. Frances," was stranded near Portsmouth. Edward Glover, master of the pink, " Eichard and Benjamin," was stranded near Chiches- ter. One man was lost ; the master and the rest of the crew eaved themselves in the shrouds. George Beach, master of the pink, "Mary," was di-iven from the Downs to Hamburgh, with the loss of anchors, cables, and sails. Richard Kitchener, master of the " Chomley " pink, was lost, with nine of her crew ; five men and a boy were saved by another vessel. Many able seamen, belonging to the town, were also lost in the Queen's (Anne's) ships of war, transports and tenders. The 11th of August, 1705, was marked by another dreadful storm, which began at one in the morning, attained its greatest fury at three, and raged until eight. It completed the destruction of all the lower buildings which had escaped the fury of all former inun- dations. Every habitation imder the Cliff was utterly demolished, and its very site concealed from the owner's knowledge beneath a mound of beach. The roof of the parish church again also suffered much, the lead being completely stripped away. A record of this event is preserved in the tower of the church, beneath the bell storey ; on the wall of which is nailed a tablet of sheet-lead, measuring 4ft. 6in. by 2ft. 6in., that was taken from the roof of the sacred edifice on the restoration of the church in 1853. It is inscribed in raised cast characters, thus : — EICHARD MASTERS. RICHARD TVPPEN. JOHN MASTERS. CHVRCHWARDENS. 17 5. Above the names is a cherub at each corner of the tablet; and between the 7 and are represented two nude children amidst TXCmiSIOXS OF THE SEA, 75 scroll-work, which is Burmounted with an angel in the act of sound- ing a trumpet. Dr. Mantell remarks that at Brighton the inroads of the sea have been very extensive. The whole of the ancient town was situated on the spot which is now covered by the sands, and the present cliffs were then behind the town, like those of Dover ; and Mr. Lyell, in his "Principles of Geology," says : — " The sea has merely resumed its position at the base of the cliffs, the site of the old town having been a beach which had for ages been abandoned by the ocean." In the Taxatio Ecclesiastica Ayiglice et Wallice, auctoritate P. Nicholas (A.D, 1292), and No^iarum inqm'sitiones in coria scaecarii (A.D. 1340), mention is made that the losses of land sustained by the action of the sea, between the years 1260 and 1340, a period of only eighty years, were in Brighthelmston, 40 acres; in Houve, 150 acres ; Aldrington, 40 acres ; and in Portslado, 60 acres. The "Magna Britannia," of 1737, says: — "About 90 years ago, this Town was a very considerable Place for Fishing, and in a flourishing Condition, being then one of the principal Towns of the County, containing near five hundred Families ; but since the beginning of the Civil "Wars it hath decayed much for want of a Free Fishery, and by very great Losses by Sea, their shipping being often taken from them by the Enemy : Xay, it is the Opinion of the most judicious Inhabitants, that had not Divine Providence in a great Measure protected them by their Town being built low, and standing on a flat ground, the French would several times have quite demolished it, as they had attempted to do, but the low Situation of it prevented their doing it any considerable Damage, the Cannon Balls usually fljang over the Town ; But the greatest Damage to the Buildings has been done by the breaking in of the Sea, which within these forty years hath laid "Waste about 130 Tene- ments; which Loss, by a modest Computation, amounts to near 40,000?. and if some speedy Care be not taken to stop the Encroach- ments of tho Ocean, it is probable the Town will in a few years be utterly depopulated ; the Inhabitants being already diminished one-third less than they were, and those that remain are many of tliem Widows, Orphans, decrepid Persons, and all very poor; insomuch that the Rates for their Relief are at the Rack-Rent of 76 HISTOEY OF BBIGHTITELMSTOIS. 8d. in the Pound, for there are but few Charities given for their Support, viz. one by Mr. Barnard Hilton* of 16/ per Annum, with some other small Benefactions, which make it about 201. a year." In 1706 there had been considerable wrecks of wines on the Manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes ; and the then Lord High Admiral claimed them as his right. But Richard Onslow, Esq., and Colonel Tufton, as proprietors of the manor, kept the wines ; and on a full investigation of the business at the assizes for the county, in 1708, their conduct, in that particular, was justified, and their manorial right fully established. On the 4th of March, 1818, as Mr. Izard was having excavations made for the foundations of two houses on the "West Cliff — now the King's Road, — between Ship Street and Middle Street, the workmen discovered the walls of one of the streets under the Cliff, which had been overwhelmed by one of the terrible inundations of the sea. They appeared buried more than fifteen feet with beach. In 1713, the sea having destroyed everything below the Cliff, encroached with alarming rapidity on the Cliff itself, fragments of which daily crumbled into the sapping tide. It was therefore found absolutely necessary, for the preservation of the rest of the town, to erect groynes before it. These groynes arc contrived by means of strong wooden barriers projecting from the Cliff towards the sea, as far as low- water mark, which intercept and confine the beach or sea shingle, that chiefly rolls from west to east in this part of the EngHsh Channel. By these contrivances, a large body of beach, rising gradually towards the Cliff, is accumulated on the western side of every barrier, which resists and breaks the impetuosity of the roughest sea. But the reduced state into which a coincidence of unfavourable circumstances had sunk Brighthelmston, about the beginning of the last century, it was impossible for the inhabitants to raise amongst themselves a sum nearly adequate to so expensive an undertaking, A brief was therefore granted them, under which * Henry Hilton, who was commonly called Baron Hilton, is evidently meant. He died in the year 1648 ; and in the To^nti Book is the following memorandum, in reference to the charity : — " Octr. 18th, 1704. Direction how to writ to Baron John Hylton, living at Hylton Castle, by way off Durham, to be left at the post office in Sunderland by Sea." IXCrCBSIOXS OP THE SEA. 77 they collected about £1,700. By means of this public aid, and the internal contributions of the town itself, the Cliff was pretty well secured from the west part, as far as the Old Steine. The groynes eastward of the Steine are comparatively of modem construction, the most important of them being, — in its original state, — that constructed on the suggestion and plan of Mr. Edward Thunder, at Black Rock, about the year 1819, when the sea was rapidly encroaching at that spot and threatening to make inroads upon the whole of the Marine Parade. The barrier was effectual, although on its projection and erection it was called by the shortsighted of the time, " Teddy Thunder's Folly." Thunder, who was one of the ToiiVTi Commissioners at the time, was an cccntric but shrewd man. He was the inventor of the pedal for shifting the keys of the piano-forte. Groyne is quite a provincial term of very doubtful origin. It is generally supposed to be a corruption from royne. An Act of Parliament was passed in the House of Commons, in 1698, for oj)ening of the ancient roynes and water courses in Sedgmore. And it is probable that these roynes are the same as groijnes at Brighton, with this difference, that the latter are artificially constructed for a certain purpose, and the former might have been only a slow acervation of time and nature. The following is an extract from a letter, dated Lewes, September 12th, 1785 : — " The violence of the wind on Tuesday last, occasioned the highest tide that has been known on this coast for a great number of years. At Bright- hclmston, the fishermen were put to the greatest difficulty in saving their boats ; to effect Avhich, many were under the necessity of hauling them up into the town, and others of lashing them to the railing on the bank. Some few, however, that could not be seciu-ed, were dashed to pieces; had the storm happened in the night-time, the whole must have shared the same fate. By the Town Act of Brighton, 1772, a duty of 6d a chaldron was levied on all coal landed on the beach ; and by the Act of 1810, a duty of 2s 6d a chaldron — now a ton, — was levied on all coals brought into the town, for the purpose of constructing and support- ing the sea-defences of the town. By the construction of these groynes, the sea from time to time was driven back to allow of the ?8 HISTOKy OP BEI0HTHI;LM8TO5. building of the sea-wall that protects the whole of the southern road in front of the town, from the bottom of Cannon Place to the extreme east of the parish. The first portion formed was that between "West Street and Middle Street, and was opened by George IV. in the year 1821 ; prior to which time the houses there were only approached at their south front by a temporary wooden platform on poles, for foot-passengers only ; and then only during fair weather ; as so close to the houses were the rage and flow of the sea during a storm, that the planks which formed the pathway, had to be removed to prevent their being either washed or blown away. At such times a barrier was erected at each end, at Bradley's Librarj^, now Booty's, and the Ship-in-Distress Inn, * now Child's Fancy Eepository, bearing the notice, " No thoroughfare." The only way for equestrians and vehicles was the present South Street, where was the following quaint sign over the shop of an eccentric shoemaker: — Here liyes a man that don't refuse To make and mend your boots and shoes. His leather's good, his work is just, • His profits small, and cannot trust : And when grim death doth him call, Farewell to his old cobbler's stall. To his blood royal highness P.G., And new laid eggs every day.i The last two lines were in red letters, and the initials P.G., were intended for Prince George. The encroachments of the sea, till the complete groyne system was carried out and the sea-wall completed, extended from EusseU * Over the front door of this house was a well painted representation of a Ship in Distress, beneath which was the following couplet : — " By danger we're encompass' d round ; Pray, lend a hand, our sMp's aground." It may here be added that formerly, throughout the town, the public houses had illustrated signs and poetic efi'usions. Thus the " Bell," in EusseU Street, now the " Nelson," had for its sign, au inverted bell, and the annexed inscription : — " Good licxuor here is to be found ; The Bell for luck's tum'd upside down." t I>ay, in the Brighton vernacular, is pronoiinced dee ; hence the rhyme is jireserved. i INCTJESrOXS OF TUB BEX. 79 Street to the extreme east end of the parish ; and after every storm of any magnitude, the road to the east of the Old Stcine, — now known as the Marine Parade, — presented a different aspect, as the inroads of the sea frequently carried away some hxindreds of tons of the Cliff ; and it was no uncommon thing after a tempest, to find that so much of the roadway had been carried off, from the Cliff becoming undermined by the wash of the waves, as to leave only sufficient space for a single vehicle to pass. On the 15th of December, 1 806, during a terrific storm, the roadway between the Royal Crescent and Eock Buildings was completely cut asuuder, making the owners of property there uneasy for the safety of their premises. This storm gave occasion to the following trial at the Sussex Assizes, held at Lewes, August 4th, 1807 : — THE K.INO V. GliBOOaY, PHILCOX, THUNDEB, AND THEEE OTHERS. RIOT AT BRIOHTON. This was aa indictment against the defendants, for riotously assembling and pulling down the railing on the road east of Brighton, leading from thence to Rottingdean, and obstructing the Surveyors of the road in the execution of their duty. This case arose out of the falling of the clilf last autumn. The Surveyor of the Road thought it necessary to carry in the railing, and trenched upon tho ground of the three first named defendants : they considered he had done more than necessary, and resisted his altering the railing. In consequence of this, on the Uth of February last, they employed men to cut down the polls and rails, which had been erected by the Surveyor of the Road. The next day the Surveyor emplo7ed men to re-erect them, and the defendants another party to pull them down. A riot ensued, the one set pulling down as fast as the other erected, until at la.st the Surveyor's party were the \-ictors. Mr GuRXEY, for the defendants, rested his defence on the ground that the Surveyor was not under the necessity of coming upon their freehold, but that he had acted wantonly and with a view to harass the defendants. He proposed calliug evidence to shew that the road at that part of it was perfectly safe. The Learned Judge held that the Surveyor of the road was clearly right. He was to judge of the necessity if he acted wrong. They ought to have brought an action of trespass, and not to hare the law into their o^vn hands. The jury found them all guilty. The three principals were fined £20 each, and the three workmen £5 each. In the Civil Court an action was tried, arising out of the same transaction, in which tho plaintiff had a verdict against tho Surveyor. Damages, seven guineas. 80 HISTOET OF BRIGHTHELMSTOlf. Chapter XIII. THE DOWER OF ANN OE CLEYES. At the Reformation, when the monastery of St. Pancras, at Southover, was destroyed, by order of Henry VIII., on its being surrendered to that monarch, by Prior Robert Crowham, November 16th, 1537, the manor of Southover, Lewes, which included the priory, was granted to Thomas CromweU, Earl of Essex, who also held one moiety of the manor of Brighthelmston-Lewes : — 4. Hen. VIII. One moiety of this manor, with several other possessions in Sussex, "was recovered by petition, by Thomas, Earl of Surrey, they having been devised by the Marquis of Berkeley, to Henry VII., and an act passed in the 7th of that king, whilst the petitioner was absent on the king's business in the north, and ignorant of it till the said parliament was ended. The answer is " Soit fait come il est desiree." The petition is contained in the Burrell MSS. 5637. Polios 36 and 37. On the attainder and execution of the Earl of Essex, Sir John Gage, of Pirle, was appointed chief steward of Southover and other manors forfeited by that nobleman within the county of Sussex. But on the 20th of January, 1541, they were granted to Ann of Cleves, one of the injured queens of Henry VIII. The Burrell MSS. record : — 32. Hen. VIII. The King granted this manor (Brighthelmston-Lewes) and advowson to Ann of Cloves ; with a great many others in Sussex, including the manor of Falmer (originally Fald-mer), which, on her death, "again reverted to the crown, and after various successions and alienations, was purchased of Sir John Shelley, of Michelgrove, by Thomas, Lord Pelham, on the 2nd day of May, in the year 1770. It still continues in the possession of the Pelham family, being held by the Earl of Chichester, of Stanmer, the manor adjoining. • Miss Strickland, in her " Lives of the Queens of England," says : — "The marriage was dissolved by mutual consent; and she being content to abide in this realm, and to yield to its laws, and to discharge her conscience of that pretended marriage, the king, of his especial favour, granted to her certain manors and estates in divers counties, lately forfeited by the attainder of the Earl of Essex, — Cromwell, whose spoils formed the principal fund for the maintenance of this princess, — and Sir Nicholas Carew, to be held THE DO WEE OF ANN OF CLEVES. 81 without rendering an account from the Lady-day foregoing the eamo grant, which was dated on the 20th of January, 1541." These grants were made to Ann by Henry YIII., on her assent to the invalidity of her marriage with that monarch, who refused to consort with her. On the 8th of August, 15 40, Henry married Catherine Howard. The manor of Falmer was also part of Ann's dower, and in seclusion there she resided some time ; though on her divorce she took up her abode at Preston House, in the village of Preston, where still, in one of the rooms, is a large and well executed portrait of her, by sotae considered the work of Holbein. It was seeing this portrait which induced the king to desire an union with her. She landed at Dover, December, 1538. Henry met her there, and such was his dislikb to her, from her beauty not being equal to Holbein's portrait, that he spoke of her as a "Flandcr's Mare," and used other expressions respecting her of an equally contemptuous character. Ann died on the 17th of July, 1557, at the Palace of Chelsea, and was buried on the 3rd of August, near the high altar, in West- minster Abbey, near the old portraits of Henry III. and King Sebert. The manor formerly belonged to the Shirley family, several monumental tablets to the members of which remain within Preston church. Mary, the second sister of Sir Richard Shirley, Bart,, was married to Thomas "Western, Esq., of Eavenhall, in Essex, who died April 1st, 1733, leaving an only child, Thomas Western, who married Ann, the daughter of Robert Callis, Esq., and died in May, 1766, leaving Charles Western as his heir. Charles Western, Esq., married Frances Shirley, only daughter and heiress of WiUiara Bolland, Esq. His end was of the most melancholy character. Whilst riding with his eldest son, Charles Callis, a child then about four years of age, along the road by Goldstono Bottom, the horse stumbled, and they were precipitated from their carriage, the father being killed on the spot. The life of the child was preserved by his being thrown into a furze bush, by the road- side. This occurrence took place on the 24th July, 1771. The widow, with her two children, Charles and a younger brother, Shirley, about three years old, shortly after left Preston, where 82 HISTOEY OP BBIOHTHELMSTQN. none of the family ever after returned, and the estate eventually was purchased by "William Stanford, Esq., for £20,000. His grand-daughter, a minor, is his heiress ; and so improved is the estate, through the favourable circumstance of the railroad from Brighton to Loudon passing through it, that the portion alone used for the formation of the line realized £30,000. Charles Callis Western, who was born on the 9th of August, was created Baron Western, on the 28th of January, 1833. He died, unmarried, in 1841, when, his brother being dead, the title became extinct. Chapter XIV. THE PARISH CHUBCH, ST. NICHOLAS. This sacred edifice is situated upon a hill north west of the town, about 160 feet above low- water mark. It is a structure of great antiquity, and was originally dedicated to St. Nicholas, Bishop of Mira, in Lycia, who lived about the commencement of the fourth century, and was the reputed patron of fishermen, on account of the following naval miracle recorded of him in the legends of that country : A certain Lycian vessel being in great danger during a storm at sea, the affrighted crew invoked the aid of this pious prelate, and lo ! to their amazement and comfort, a venerable personage appeared amongst them, and exclaimed, " Here I am, for ye called me." With his help, the ship was successfully managed until the storm subsided; and then their miraculous assistant vanished. The mariners had no sooner reached the port, than they enquired for Bishop Nicholas, and were directed to the cathedral, where they beheld in him the identical person to whom they owed their safety. His feast is held on the 6th day of December, and used to bo celebrated with devout dependence by the mariners of Brightlielmston, before the Ileformation. But in the spirit of pious aviu'ice or cunning, the Virgin Mary was, in process of time, made joint tenant with St. Nicholas, in the patronage of THE PARISH CHlTBCn ST. NICHOLAS. 83 this church. " The second dedicator," says Dunvan, " seems to have shrewdly considered that N'icholas could not, either as a saint or a gentleman, object to so fair and exalted a partner; and that in case any of the seafaring inhabitants of the parish were at any time in danger, either their Holy Patron, or more Holy Patroness, would most probably be at leisure to step to their succour." This church was given by llalph dc Cheney to the Priory of Lewes, in the reign of Stephen. But it appears from the terms of an award or arbitration between Richard de Wich, Bishop of Chichester, and "William de Ruslous, Prior of St. Pancras, near Lewes, made in 1252, still extant in the episcopal archives at Chichester, that the priory obtained no full possession of this church before that period. By this award, as soon as the then Rector of Brighthelmston should die, or resign the living, the Prior of St. Pancras was to appoint a Yicar there, who was to have all the offerings of the altar, as far as they belonged to altarage, and the small tithes, viz., those of mills, sea-fisheries, mortuaries, wool, lambs, cheese, cows, calves, hogs, colts, geese, hens, eggs, flax, hemp, and of every thing that grows in gardens, except wheat and barley. He was also to have the third of the tithe of hay, and a convenient mansion assigned him. To encourage a crusade, in con- sequence of the capture of Acre by the Soldau of Babylon, Edward I. granted to Pope Nicholas IV. the tenths of all the monasteries and churches in England, and in the Taxatio EceUsiastica Angles et Wallice audoritate P. Nicholas, 1291, occur these entries: — £ s. d. " ' Eccl'ia de Brighthelmston 20 j p^^ Lewens." " Vicar" ejusdcni .5 ) The Vicar of Brighton was at one period saddled with a j-early pension of seven shillings and sixpence to tho Vicar of Hove; and in this state the Vicarage continued, the impropriation of the great tithes vesting in the Priory of Lewes, tiU the suppression of that monastery, in 1538. The impropriation and patronage of this parish were granted by Henry VIII. to Lord Cromwell, his Vicar- General, who in that year, 1538, ordered a public register of bap- tisms and burials to be kept at Brighthelmston, and in every other parish of the kingdom. o 2 84 HieiOEY 0» BRIGHTHELMSTON. Ou the death and attainder of Cromwell, the church was con- ferred by Henry to his repudiated queen, Anne of Cleves, and on the death of that princess, in 1557, it again reverted to the crown, la the reign of Elizabeth, the patronage and impropriation wera severed, the former being attached to the see of Chichester; and bo it continues to the present day. There is a grest tithe ou Brighton, of small extent, now belonging to Thomas Attree, Esq., Queen's Park, Brighton, as Lay-Eector, and it formerly belonged to Thomas Eead Kemp, Esq., as Lay-Eector. The church is built of cut flints and grouting of lime and coarse sea-sand, with stone coignes. The old map picture of 1545, represents the church as cruciform, and the tower circular : probably errors of the artist, whose design was doubtless more to illustrate the prominent features of the scene, — the attack upon and burning of the town, — than the architectural details of the buildings. The sacred edifice consists of a body, chancel, and a somewhat low em- battled tower, surmounted by a sloping roof, in the centre of which is a cast-iron standard, in which is a flagstaff that may be raised or lowered at pleasure. An arrow vane is on its top. Formerly, within the last half-century, the vane was represented by n gilt fish, doubtless intended as the representation of a dolphin ; but in 1796 a visitor, considering that the figure bore more resemblance to a shark than any other fish, penned the following verses upon it : — Say, why on Brighton's church we see A golden shark display' d, But that 'twas aptly meant to be An emblem of its trade .>' Nor could the thing so well be told In any other way : . The town's a Shark that lives on gold,— The Company its prey. A musical peal of eight bells was cast in 1777, by Mr. Eudhall, ironmonger, of the firm Eudhall and Dudlow, North street, Brighton, now Langworthy and Eeed, at his foundry, at Bristol. The tenor bell, which is pitched in the key F, weighs 1,500 pounds. The belfry had a peal previous to that date, as in the vestry minutes of of October 25th, 1736, is the order :— To new cast the great bell belonging to the parish church of Brighthelmston, to agree with Joshua Kipling, bellfoundcr, to charge on the parish taxes. THE PAEISn CnXJECn ST. NICHOLAS. 00 In March, 1790, another order was made : — That the treble bell be repaired by Mr. Palmer. Two additional bells were hung in 1818, making a peal of ten bells; but when the clock, at St. Peter's church, was put up, the two How bells, which did not accord with the original eight, were re- moved to the tower of that church, for chiming the quarters. Doomsday Book, 1086, mentions : — Ibide' ten' "Wills, de Watevile Bristelraestune de Willo. Uluuard tciuiit de Rege E. T'c et modo sc defd' p. 5 hid' et dim'. T'ra e 4 car. In d'nio c' 1 car', ct 13 vill'i, et ii Bord' cu' una car'. Ibi jEccl'a. TRANSLATION. In the same place William de "Wateville hold3 Bristelmestune of William, tlhvard held it of King Edward. Then and now it defends itself for five iiides and a half. The land is 4 carucates. In demesne is 1 carucate and 13 villeins, and 2 bordars, with one plough. There is a church. The manor was that of Atlingworth,* and there is no doubt the church referred to was the present parist-chui'ch of St. Nicholas, which, in its original state, was of Norman construction. It con- gists of a nave, with side aisles, and a chancel, which is separated from the main body by a richly painted and gilded Tudor screen, over which, at no remote period, was a rood-loft. To the south, also, of the chancel is a small chantry. The five arches which separate on each side the nave from the aisles, and are supported on diagonal pillars, are of the fifteenth century. To accommodate the great increase in the population of the town, from time to time, galleries were constructed wherever it was possible to place them. In 1852, however, in consequeucj of the dilapidated state of the saci'ed edifice, the restoration of the chiu'ch was de- termined upon. The leader in the desirable movement was the Rev. H. M. "Wagner, Vicar, who having invited some of the residents and townspeople to meet at the Town Hall, on the 20th ox Septem- ber, in that year, and having taken the chair, stated the fact, —that many years ago, his Grace tho late Duke of Wellington was a pupil of his (the Vicar's) grandfather, the then Vicar of the parish ; and that the Duke was wont to worship in the Vicarage pew of their • " This manor belonged to tlic Priory of Lewes, and at the dissolution, 2\) lien, VIII., was granted to Sir Thomas Lord Cromwell, ht; also tho rootor\', with the advovrson of tho vicarago,"-T-Burrell M^y. 86 HISTOKY OP BHIGHTHELMSTON. parish, church. He proposed to them the restoration of the church as an appropriate and enduring monument of their gratitude and veneration for his memory. The proposition was unanimously adopted, and a committee Avas appointed to collect subscriptions, which in less than a month amounted to £5,000, a sum nearly equal to the outlay. In the chantry, also, a much admired monument or cenotaph was erected to the memory of the Duke of Wellington. This beautiful work of art, sculptured in stone, by Mr. Philip, of Vaux- hall, after the design of the late Mr. Carpenter, will henceforth constitute one of the most striking features of the restored church. It is in the decorated period of Edward II. and Edward III., commonly known as the Eleanor Cross. The shape is hexagonal ; the height, fi'om the base to summit, 18-ft. 6-in. ; the circumference, between 15 and 16 feet. The pedestal commences with a richly moulded base, rising from a tesselated pavement On the base of the pedestal rests a plinth, covered with diaper- work, surmounted by another moulding, on the broad chamfer of which is an inscription, in old English characters, in brass, each line being presented by an angle of the monument : — In Mnnotiam iEaximi Bum MiltllinQton, ?^cec tiomu.s gacrosancta, M^]tsm nmjiRCH: m ■m'M'V&Wuh&, iBiai&HTOi^, (restored) THE PARISH CHUKCH SX. NICHOLAS. 87 canopied niche, with a pierced spire siirmoiinted by a finial. En- closed "within tliis niche, is an alabaster figure of St. George, sheath- ing his sword over the di'agon, which lies slain at his feet, symbolical of the career of the great chieftain to whose memor}' the work is raised. The drum, with all above it, rests on a shaft of dark marble, polished, which springs from the pedestal, and around which winds a scroU bearing the names of four of those achievements which mark different eras in the military career of Wellington, viz. : — ASSAYE. TORKES VeDRAS. VlTTORIA. Waterloo. These " crowning deeds " have been well selected. Assayo represents the Duke's Indian campaign ; Torres Vedras, his successful defence of Portugal ; Vittoria, the victor)'- which delivered Spain; and Waterloo, the battle which saved Europe It is impossible to convey in words an" idea of this beautiful monument, which reflects the highest credit on its designer. Immediately in front of this memorial, is a monumental brass in the pavement, thus inscribed : — In Mcmoi-y of R. C. Carpenter, who but a short time survived the completion of his design, the restoration of this Church, mdccclv. The font of the church was much admired for the sculpture which adorned it ; but in 1 743 its beauty was nearly effaced by the churcliwardcns, Thomas Stranbido, William BuckeU, and G. Warden, who had it cleaned, partially re-cut, and their names carved in the base, a monument of their vitiated taste, confirmed vanity, and profound ignorance. It is of a circular form, and is raised from the floor by one step. It has excited much observation amongst antiquaries, some of whom contend for its early date, whilst others consider it only a copy ; but where the original is they are at a loss to say. The sculpture upon it is in four sections. The first represents the Lord's Supper, and consists of seven figures ; Our Saviour, crowned with glory, in the centre, is in the act of giv-iug the blessing, and on the table arc distributed various diiuking vessels, with the bread. The next compartment contains a kneeling figure; the tliird, whicli is larger^ has a boat on the sea, with tlw Huil unfurled, and two figures, ouo prosoutiag a emaU barrel or 00 HISTOBY or BBIOHTHELMSraN. vessel to a bishop, who has his mitre and crozier, and the other giving bread to a female ; both figures in the water. The fourth division consists of three arches, in each of which is a figure, the centre appearing to be the principal. The whole is sculptured in basso relievo. Over these compartments is a line of zig-zag and lozenge work, curiously chamfered, and beneath them is a row of exceedingly handsome ornamental work of leaves and flowers. The following are extracts from a diary : — Sunday, August 29th, 1778. Have been this mornhig to the sailor's land mark — to the only church in the town — and collected a nuraher of novtUics. The Doctor was pleased to inform us, in a religiously political, or politically religious discourse, that when men tremble they are generally a/raid ; when they ■are in danger they should strive to extrieaU themselves ; and that hope is the expectant of many great and singular ffood events. Monday, September, 13th. — A new man and wife have just passed me. — The towa's-people preserve some customs here that smack of great antiquity, and seem peculiar to the county of Sussex. At a marriage there are strewers, who strew the way from church, not only with flowers, but with sugar-plums and wheat. "Why sugar-plums and wheat, I wonder i" Many ceremonies have been retained longer than the history of their origin or foundation. This system of strewing the bride and bridegroom is still pursued, not merely by the friends of the happy pair, — aU couples just married are pronounced to be happy, — but by a constant group of women with children in their arms, who scatter their corn, &c., with blessings, in proportion to the harvest of coin they reap. In the beginning of the 16tli century, the Rev. EdAvard Lowe was vicar of the parish. His successor was the Eev. John Bolt, who died on the 2nd of November, 1660. He was succeeded by the "Rev. — Falkner, who was incumbeait till 1705. The vestry book of the date, " November the 2nd, Anno Domini, 1703," records that : — That day the Eeverend Mr Joseph Grave, Rector off St. Anne's, Lewes, Sent the works off M r. Charnock, iu two Volumes of his for the use off the Vicar of Brighthelmstone and his siu'veyvors. Each Volume having in gold letters (Bright- helmston) upon both sides off the cover. The benefactor at London would no(t) otherw^c be knowm than by the two letters off his name, H : Y : The same book has also the following entries : — March 11th, 1707. John Mockford appointed Clerk at Chiuch ; jiart of his doty is to wash the churoli linen, and scour the church plate. July 8th, 1713. "NVilliani Cousins appoiutcd Suxtoij ; Mary Bridger to be pqual partner, THE PAKISn CHUECH — ST. NICHOLAS. 89 March 3l8t, 1800. That Thomas Waring be appointed beadle and cryer at a salary of Twenty pounds and Cloathcs. It is understood that his duty is to make the poor books, the Cliurch Book, the surveyor's book, and the Town book. He is also to attend the Nortli and west galleries of the Church on Sundays. He is to go round the town witti the Officers to make the Militia list, and is likennsc to officiate as Ileadborough in the Town ; but not elsewhere, and to be sworn for that purpose. The Eev. William Colbron succeeded to the vicarage in 1 705, and held it till his death, on the 20th of July, 1750. The next vicar of Brighthelmston, was the Rev. Henry Michcll, who was born at Lewes, in 1714. He finished his studies at the University of Cambridge, and having obtained a fellowship in Clare-Hall college, he, at the age of 25 years, was made rector of Marcsfield ; and, five yeai's afterwards, the Bishop of Chichester collated him to the Rectory of West Blatchington, and the Vicarage of Brighton. In 1747, he married the only daughter of the Rev. Francis Reade, of Bedford, by whom he had sixteen children. A marble tablet in the church fully delineates his estimable character and profound learning. The ''Magna Britannia" says : — "The church is a vicarage, but meanly endowed. The vicar claims the old episcopal custom of a penny per head, (commonly called smoak money, or a garden penny) as also he requires, as his due, a quarter of a share of all fishing vessels.* The parsonage tythes are about £100 per annum, but are in the hands of an improprietor, who allows the Vicar no benefit from them, by which means his maintenance is very small : and therefore the neighbouring gentlemen have augmented it by a subscription of £50 per annum, on condition he shall instruct fifty poor boys of the town in reading and ■writing. The church stands about forty rods from tlie town, at a little distance from the sea. There was formerly another church, near the middle of the town, Avhich is said to have been burnt by the French." The Rev. Mr. Michcll, died on the 31st of October, 1789, and was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Hudson, who commenced the chapel of ease, in Prince's place, known as the Chapel Royal. Mr. Hudson died in 1804, and was succeeded by the Rev. Robert James Carr, afterwards Dr. Carr, of Chichester, and then Bishop of 90 HISTOEY OF BRIGHTHEIMSTON. "Worcester. The present Vicar, the Rev. Henry Michell Wagner , grand- son of the Rev. Henry Michell,* was his successor, August 1st, 1 824 ; and during the time he has held the appointment, the number of places of worship attached to the Established Church, Avhich have been erected, Avill testify his zeal in the support of our Holy Religion. In 1824, Nathaniel Kemp, Esq., presented the church with a beautiful Communion Service of silver, consisting of a flagon, two cups, and two plates, thus inscribed : " Given by Nath. Kemp, Esq., and Augusta Caroline, his wife, to the Church of St. Nicholas, Brighthelmston. Anno Domini, 1824." Upon stripping the roof on the restoration of the church, in 1852, three several pieces of inscribed cast lead were preserved, and they are now fixed to the walls of the tower in the chamber below the bell story. One piece has been already described in page 74, the others are as follows : — THOMAS FRILAND. THOMAS ROBERTS. RICHARD ROSSUM. CHVRCHWARDENS. 16 7 5 JOHN VANDYKE PLVMER. EDWARD LOWE, VICAR. JOHN SCRAS. HENERY SMITH. RICHARD HERMAN. CHVRCHWARDENS. A O D O M N 16 7 7. Between the lines of names and the figures of the date, on the first represented piece of lead, are raised characters, twenty-one in number, intended to denote dolphins, the Arms of Brighton. Previous to the restoration of the building, the Church, both inside and out, had undergone many changes, to afford space ; low. * Mr. Wagner, the father of the present Vicai', and son-in-law \n the Rev. Henry Michell, (Vicar), died at his houfje in Pall-Mall, London, on Sunday tlie J 7th of February, U\l. THE PARISH CHUBCH — ST. NICHOLAS. 91 gloomy galleries, scarcely permitting headway for the congregation when standing, whilst the common house-shaped and dormant windows disflgurcd it in all directions. In a dark gallery at the west, in 1813, was placed an organ,* built by Lincoln. It was opened on tha 7th of March, that year, by !Mr. Nathaniel Cook. A small organ loft occupies the space over the vestrj- room, but it does not at present boast of an organ . Formerly there were several tablets on the belfry walls, recording peals which had been rung in the tower. Their places arc now occupied by sundry monuments that were formerly fixed in other parts of the edifice ; and some few of the ringing records have been removed to the club-room of the Brighton Society of Change Ringers, at the Running Horse Inn, King street.f while the remainder fell into the hands of a marine-store dealer. The Running Horse Inn was formerly kno^vn as the Hen and Chicken ; and in 1792, and for several years after- wards, was kept by Mr. John Pocock, who at that time was a sawyer by occupation. In 1795, he received the appointment of Clerk at the Chapel Royal, when that place of pubKc worship was first opened ; and after retaining the situation for thirteen years, he * This organ is now stowed away as lumber, in one of the rooms of the Royal Pavilion. t Although, to many persons, the thus associating of a public-house with the parish church may be considered somewhat out of character, the annexed copy of manuscripts in the possession of the writer of this book, will not only convince them that there is in some measure an affinity, but it ■Nvill in a degree stagger modern advocates of temperance, not so much that men of the dates recorded indulged in their potations, but that the Vestry Meetings of the time permitted the expenditure out of the Cluirch-rates. Copy : — " White Hart, Russell Street, Brighton. 1824. The Honourable Churchwardens of Brighton. To Phiuehas Jupp. £ s. d. March 25th.— 01 Pots of Beer 1 10 6 1 Pint do V 3 Juno 25th.— 71 Pots of Beer 117 Sept. 29th.— 8i) Pots of Beer 2 4 G Deer. 25th.- 82 Pots of Beer 2 1 £7 13 3 Jany. 21, 1S25. Keceived of the Churchwardens, the sum of sovon pounds, 13s 3d, as per bill, for Boer for workmen at the Parish Church. £7 13s 3d. Phinehas Jupp." "Whether the recipients wore permitted to indulge in their libations ad libitum^ is not on record, 92 HISTOEY OB BRIGHTHEIMSTON. was appointed Clerk of the Parish, in which office he continued for thirty-eight years, dying on the 13th of June, 1846, at the ripe old age of four score and one years. The oldest ringers' tablet preserved is thus inscribed : — May 24:th, 1779, was rung in this tower by the Society of Cumberland Youths, a true and complete peal of 11,088 changes, Bob Major, performed in six hours and fifty minutes, in order as follows, viz : George Cross Treble, London. Thomas Jones 2nd, Horsham. Thomas Lintott 3rd, Horshp,ra. Joseph Willard 4th, Chlddingly. Edward Simmonds 5th, Islington. John "Wheatly 6th, Epsom. James "Wilson 7th, Cuckfield. B. Simmonds Tenor, Leatherhead. N.B.— The Bobs were called by G. Cross. The most commemorative is : — On January 29th, 1820, being the accession of King George IV., was rung in this tower, by the Brighton Society of Change Ringers, a true and complete peal of 5,040 changes of Bob Major, in three hours and six minutes, by persons in order as follows, viz. : — John Pocock 6th James Potter . . 6th William "Wells 7th Isaac Tester Tenor. William Refolds Treble. James Parsons 2nd Richard Bodle 3rd Edward Honeyset 4th Conducted by Isaac Tester. The present sexton is Mr. John Shelley, who succeeded his father, Mr. William Shelley, on his retirement from the office, at Easter, 1860. The predecessor of Shelley, sen., was Mantell, the successor of Eichard Jeffery, in July, 1806. Chapter XV. DR. VICESIMUS KNOX AND THE SURREY MILITIA. During the time of the Brighton Camp, in the autumn of 1793, the SuiTcy Militia were quartered in the town; and the Parish Church being then the only place of worship in Brighton, i][i coj^nexiou with iho F.sfMl.lishecl form of Jieligio-n, it was not aA Th.'niiim SeuJp ' ■ r i.^iJ'tvhUshtd I'cr Ihel'rcp crrcpru■l,rs.u■l!uKnroiH.m^\a.|autu■hvlMr1.^nlMu■J^(\